40,000 Expended Shells
by InquisitorMarek
Summary: Miho Nishizumi gets banished from her family after botching the finals match of the Panzerfahren World Tournament, and embarrassing the Nishizumi name. But is that really the reason? Perhaps it has something to do with her grandfather, a mysterious figure, wrapped in a massive cloak and always chomping on a cigar.
1. packet1

++Biometric Scans complete, Homo Sapiens++

++Access Granted++

++Beginning download; packet_1.7++

The sun beat down onto the metal boxes moving at forty-five kilometers an hour. The heat inside the vehicles was merciless, and it reeked already of sweat and anxiety. Hearing wasn't something the crews did without their headsets. The League sanctioned engines that propelled their tanks were designed to mimic the engines that were originally in the tanks, but only in mechanical problems, not safety-wise.

And it was thus that the tanks of St. Gloriana Girl's High School moved in the spirit of their hero, Winston Churchill. Swift, immaculate and precise were they, as the tanks bounced and jounced over the bumpy river bed in a wedge formation, searching for the newest school to enter the fields of armored warfare, Ooarai Girl's High School.

Sitting in the command copula of the command tank, the Churchill Mk. VII, the blonde commander of the tiny task force sipped her tea, relishing the cinnamon taste of her favorite pre-battle blend. The British had something with the whole tea-phenomenon.

"War is a catalogue of blunders. Don't add to them!" she ordered over the team-wide channel.

"Yes commander!" was the reply. The team then went silent as they tried to find the errant young school amidst the dried rocks and rubble of the river bed. The concentration-filled "silence" dominated the tanks for the next five minutes before the Churchill's loader cleared her throat.

"Darjeeling...what in the seven hells did you mean this time?" she sighed.

"Orange Pekoe, what did you think I meant?" Darjeeling said as she refilled her fine china tea cup smoothly, despite the bouncing of the Churchill.

"Don't fuck up?" she offered timidly.

"You got it! Bloody hell!" Darjeeling laughed heartily, "And here I thought you might miss that one."

"Have a little faith, Darjeeling, have a little faith."

"I have put my faith in God, in my king and in my country," Darjeeling retorted.

"Just how much of that tea have you had already?" The blonde in the gunner's seat asked worriedly.

"Assam, I've had only three cups."

"The match started ten minutes ago. And the water was piping hot before that."

"Your point?"

"..."Assam shot a glance over to her loader. It was a lost cause to try and fix this. They'd have to get into the spirit of things as well. But God, did she _hate_ tea. Sighing, Assam reached for her thermos, probably cooled enough now to drink comfortably in the high heat.

As the liquid met her lips and tongue, it left its mark with a sweltering sharp stab of pain.

"Ow! Bloody hell!" she swore. _Okay, perhaps not cool enough just yet._ This damned hot box wasn't helping matters either. She looked out the port in the hull of the Churchill, watching the parched earth pass beneath the treads of the Churchill. _Where in the seven hells is Ooarai?_

888

Six kilometers away, equally sweaty and more anxious, Ooarai's commander, Miho Nishizumi, and her spotter/loader Yukari Akiyama lay some twenty odd meters from their own beloved hot box, painted an unfortunate German-battle grey. Both were looking through pairs of binoculars at the Brits, who were crossing the lake bed perpendicular to their position.

"Oh my God," Yukari breathed "Their formation is immaculate!"

"Agreed," Miho grumped. She'd been working on their formations, but that's not what seemed to be working for them in their mock battles. Especially with the _Furry Vengeance_, their secondary support platform, an M3 Lee being crewed by..._freshmen_. Miho shuddered at the thought. "How thick is their frontal armor again?"

"Too thick for our armor piercing rounds to penetrate. At all."

"Even at point blank range?" Miho insisted. Yukari roller her eyes.

"Even at point blank, it'd just lodge itself or glance off, not doing anything."

"Emperor damn it all!" Miho cursed and peered again at the fleeting tanks, her mind awash with tactical data.

"What's the plan, Castellan?" Saori Takabe asked over the radio system. She was the coms officer for their tank and the entire team, being in the commander's tank.

"We flank them, then we shoot them, then we crush them," Miho said, her mind elsewhere at the moment. She wasn't long to return to the world, grabbing a plan from the depths of her mind with both hands and wrenching it free. She shook her head, clearing the cobwebs.

"Alright, Yukari, pack it in. We're moving," Miho said, getting up slowly before jogging back to the tank, hidden behind some rocks in a hull-down position. She was glad that she'd been able to convince the Student Council President, Anzu Kadotani, that they needed different uniforms for the Guard. Those incredibly "cute" and incredibly skimpy skirts? No, just...no.

Instead, Miho fought for, and eventually got some uniforms from the military detachment that was aboard the ship. The uniforms were modified per tank team, but shared a similar color scheme nonetheless.

The whole team's uniform was a matching battle-grey relatively form fitting shirt and trousers with dark gold highlights and shin high black tanker's boots. The piping on the shirt and the color of the epaulets. The ones Miho and Yukari wore were pure white.

Additionally, each member of the team had modified their uniform slightly to improve in their tasks, as well as being assigned a pair of gloves for when working with metal too hot or cold to touch with bare hands.

Saori, being the coms officer, had numerous pockets and see-through patches where she could attach maps, code ciphers, and spare parts for her radio for a quick in-battle fix.

Yukari, being the loader, wore her uniform a little looser, and used her pair of gloves more often than the others did, handling the rather filthy ammunition to feed the main cannon.

Mako Reizei did not make any modifications to her uniform, being the driver. Except for the hydration bladder perpetually filled with caffeinated liquids attached to her seat back.

The actual gunner, Hana Isuzu made modifications similar to Saori, but hers was for ballistic trajectories and shell characteristics at different distances, and for different shell types. And on her lap she had an identification chart that Yukari's presence made obsolete. The girl was like an encyclopedia for armored fighting vehicles.

Miho, being the commander, had modified her uniform with a little more padding in places that might be caught in shrapnel, should a shell breach the hull. Which, with the Panzer IV's relatively thin armor, was a very high possibility. She also included a homemade range booster for her command headset, and had a map attachment with markers for her tanks and the enemies.

Miho's vehicle, the famed German Panzer IV Aufs D, sat watching over the young commander twenty meters back, with the brilliant raven haired driver asleep at the controls. Again. Miho groaned in frustration. It was an uphill battle against her condition, but...progress is progress no matter how much blood you spill.

Miho leapt up onto the frontal glacises of the Panzer, startling Saori and being totally ignored by Mako. She bent down and shook her awake.

"Pass auf!" she barked. Mako became instantly alert when her brain's higher functions kicked in, and the normal determined look of the best driver was evident once more. All the while, Yukari scrambled up the tank to her own hatch.

"What's the plan Miho?" Mako asked in her monotone.

"I'll tell everyone once we get mobile. For now, get us turned around and moving. We're going to point delta, best speed." Mako nodded and hit the starter for the Panzer. Saori started giving wake up calls to the other crews, relaying Miho's input to the entire team. Miho clambered up and into the commander's position as the massive meal beast rumbled to life and swung itself about.

From the commanding view that her position in the tank allowed, Miho gazed at the other crews and winced again. They didn't have much in the way of tanks, having only a Stug III assault gun, a Panzer 38(t) light tank, an American M3 Lee, and a Japanese Type 89B Otsu. Going up against British Matilda Mk. IIs and a Churchill, their odds were slim. Very slim indeed. And the fact that no one else on the Emperor-damned team had heard of this little thing called "camouflage" made it all worse, rubbing salt into an already deep wound.

She shook her head again and brought up the plans for the assault on those damn tea drinkers. They'd follow this riverbed down to a makeshift boat launch, here. Then the squadron, minus _Renegade Glory_, would take up ambush positions along the edges of the bank, able to fire at the weak rear armor. It was a long shot. St. Glorianna had an experienced commander, and those tanks were designed to shrug off everything short of a special dedicated anti-tank weapon. The rear decking was also heavily armored, but it was the only chance her team stood to win.

"Commander, you were going to explain our plan?" Saori asked.

"Yeah, I'm going over a few minor details in my head now. Hana, can you give me a spin around on the tank's turret?"

"Yep!" Hana began to move the turret back and forth, then in a complete circle. The process gave Miho the few minutes she needed to complete her plans as she passed her other tanks. As the Pz IV took the lead, Miho keyed her inter-crew mic.

"Alright. Saori, am I live?"

"You've been live since we started up," she reported. Miho suddenly had a wave of embarrassment wash over her before she buried it under her tactical state of mind. This was no place to be embarrassed. She forced the emotion down as she cleared her throat.

"Good. Listen up everyone, here's what we're up against. Four British Matilda Mk. II mediums and one Churchill Mk. VII heavy as their flag tank. Their armor is way too thick for our guns to pierce at range and from the front, but the only real danger is the Churchill's seventy-five. The Matilda's, I'm guessing, are just there to soak up shells and try to blow off our tracks.

This means we need to get to a place where we can safely engage them from the sides and rear. If anyone has a better idea than the village, I'd like to hear it now." Silence descended upon Ooarai's intercom system.

"We attack them from the other side of the ridge that I had said earlier!" the Captain barked. "Let's go! There's blood to be had!"

"We'll need a tank or two to be a decoy to divert attention away from the actual ambushers," Miho said, "Any volunteers?"

"But aren't you the decoy?" Erwin asked from the Stug III.

"No, I'm the main decoy. This decoy is going to be where we originally planned to be, while the others rain hell on their asses once the two of us link up and pull back."

"Hmm...an interesting plan, Kommandant. So who's ze decoy?"

"Not you. I need the Stug as an ambusher. I'll have the thirty-eight and the eighty-nine as the other decoys. The rest of you should have enough firepower to take down the Matildas, but the Churchill's going to be a tricky one."

"You can count on us Castellan!" Noriko answered immediately.

"What?! B-b-b-but..no!" the Captain shouted angrily. "We will not be used as bait!"

"Can your thirty-seven millimeter cannon penetrate seventy eight millimeters of armor plating?"

"...I don't know."

"I'll tell you the answer," Miho glanced quickly at Yukari, who shook her head negative. "No it can't."

"Why?! It's a tank!"

"Saori, pipe Yukari to the team net."

"Aye," dial spin, switch flip, "she's on."

"St. Glorianna is fielding Matilda Mk. II infantry tanks. These tanks were built in the same general time frame that the Panzer 38(t) was, but it was significantly better protected, and had a larger cannon, at the cost of speed. The slow speed and thick armor was meant for it to wade into battle alongside infantry. In the north African campaigns, the Matilda was pitted against the 38(t) and came out victorious on almost every occasion. Until a heavier tank was able to come along and take care of the Matilda, the best defenses that the Germans had against them were the eighty-eight millimeter anti-aircraft cannon and the Luftwaffe."

"Good enough reason for you, Captain?" Miho asked gently after letting that soak in.

"Yes, Commander Nishizumi, it is. We await your orders," the President said before the Captain said something she might regret.

"Make for the original ambush point, designation point Alpha with _Indomitable Will_. _Furry Vengence_ will take positions opposite and across the canyon from _Immortal Honor._"

"Why's that?" Asuza asked.

"The Churchill's only weak point is the rear hull, with fifty millimeters of protection, whereas everywhere else we cannot penetrate. Not even the turret."

"Alright, you have us."

"Good. Erwin, take point Charlie. Asuza, Bravo. Questions?"

"Klar!" the blonde haired Germanic-Japanese reported. Azusa was a lot more timid, but with Erwin's tank coming along, things couldn't be that bad. She managed "Five by."

"Good. President, Noriko, get moving now. You'll have the advantage of surprise for a minute then you need to haul ass and speed outta there. We'll catch them in a cross fire and annihilate them," Miho finished.

"...impressive Nishizumi. Any place in particular you want us to go?" the President of the Student Council said with a smug smile. Her faith was not misplaced. Behind her, the Captain of the Hall Monitors growled something about insolence, heresy and the cannon of her tank.

"No, just get there and let me know where, so I can bring them past you," she replied.

"Very good. We're moving out now?" the President asked.

"Of course. You have your assignments. Panzer vor!" the last was an odd cross between a small girl's cry and a hardened veteran's battle cry.

"Hai!" the crews replied as the tanks split off into their respective detachments.

The hunt was on.

888

"What kind of range are we looking at?" Miho asked over the intercom. The _Renegade Glory_ sat at a considerable distance from the speeding British tanks, but still well within the Panzer IV's weapon range...hopefully. Miho tried to find a good position to fire from, but nothing had been going in her favor so far_. When your plan boils down to the last atom and everything has been accounted for, every contingency planned for and headed off, and the last thing needed is the human element to kick it off the ground, then and ONLY then are you sitting on a good plan. _

"Uh...six..thousand meters, give or take twenty," Hana reported, running the calculations in her head.

"Good work. You have a bead on the Churchill?"

"Yeah, I'm re-"

"Fire." BAAM. The cannon's roar echoed throughout the quiet valley, but the Brits paid no attention to that. They were more concerned about this errant tank firing on them. Still in their wedge formation, they began to turn while swinging their turrets to bear.

"Sorry," Hana apologized.

"It's alright. We just need them to be enticed enough to follow us with their Churchill," Miho said as the _Renegade_ swung herself around and hauled ass at top speed. Glancing back, Miho noted with pride that the entire detachment had followed them into the ravine. _Idiots_. Then they did something crazy. Really crazy. They started firing on the move. Miho now realized that she had five tanks firing at her. And that with the Aufs D's lack of metal between her and the incoming shells, she began to get a little panicky.

"Evade the shells Mako!" Miho shouted, but the sleepy teen was already working her magic with the tank's controls as the shells crashed about. The British continued firing on the lone Panzer, heedless of their own inaccurate shots.

Mako swung the twenty-five ton tank from side to side at random, trying desperately to stay ahead of the shells that were still managing to land uncomfortably close.

"I thought you could drive this piece of ass Panzer!" Miho shouted over the thunder of earth exploding in geysers around them as the British gave chase. Despite the Panzer IV's edge in speed, her climbing speed wasn't the same as the British, allowing a more constant pursuit rather than...whatever the _Renegade Glory_ was doing.

"Working on it!" Mako grumped as she swung the control levers in opposite directions. More shells crashed around them as the Panzer swung wildly about, trying desperately not to get hit. Miho still stood in the copula, gazing at the slowly gaining Matildas. She thumbed her mic to the team channel.

"Erwin, Azusa, tell me you're in position."

"Ja Fraulien! Wir sind in position!" Erwin said in her typical Germanese (German/Japanese)

"Sit tight, we're taking our- Emperor damn it all to the fucking Warp!" Miho swore as a shell grazed the side of the hull and quickly switched channels. "Hana! Time to earn your retribution! Spill their fucking tea!"

"Gladly" she said quietly over the intercom as she swung the turret around. After sighting in for a moment, she pulled the trigger, and the cannon let fly another shell. BAAM! The ejector spat the hot casing out and Yukari reloaded it, slamming the several kilogram shell home and closing the breech. The shell hit near the lead Matilda and Miho smirked. Her gunner was the best in the entire team. She'd hit them. Another was loaded into the breech.

"Loaded!" she cried and Hana let fly again. BAAM! This shell actually **hit** the Emperor damned vehicle, but it glanced off the thick frontal armor, just like Yukari said it would. _Time to improvise._

"Yukari! Status on HE rounds!" Miho barked.

"Thirty!" Yukari replied after glancing at the auto counter in the corner.

"Good. Load HE rounds for the next five shots. Hana, try and land a shot on their barrel." About thirty seconds later, Yukari shouted "Loaded!"

"Get some!" Hana whispered to no one and pulled the trigger. The tank bucked BAAM! as the shell impacted on the Matilda's frontal armor. It detonated, shaking the tank and throwing the crew off their balance. And bending their main cannon slightly.

The next shell that the Matilda fired curved right horribly, detonating against the side of the river bed. Miho cackled with mirth. "Blast them to the Warp Hana!"

"Already on it Castellan!" she said through set teeth, her entire concentration focused on putting the shells downrange accurately.

Miho was beginning to come out of her cackling fit when the Churchill opened up with the machinegun, and sparks began to ricochet off the tank. Miho looked into the commander's copula and made eye contact with that annoyingly imprecise blonde bimbo. For a moment, Miho felt something that wasn't her own; fear.

888

The icy calm on her face said all that Darjeeling needed to know. That wasn't the look a novice made in the middle of battle. This girl had seen real battle. Real horrors. She was not afraid.

"One ought to never run from danger, but rather meet it head on. This way, the danger is cut in half. Never run away from anything!" she said on her team wide com net. "Hunt them down like the dogs they are!"

"Commander Darjeeling, are we in trouble by pursuing them? You looked rather ill a moment ago," her sister, Orange Pekoe asked.

"I'm fine, really. I just got a bit of insight into our opponent," Darjeeling soothed. But on the inside, she was worried about the outcome of the battle. _Can we really beat someone who's seen real battle? But how did she see battle? The last war was over fifty years ago. Oh god, this makes no sense. This is supposed to be the girl that abandoned Panzerfahren for good. What in the seven hells happened to change her mind?_

++Download packet_1.7 Complete++

++Thought for the day: By the manner of their defeat shall we know them++


	2. packet2

++Biometric scans complete, Homo Sapiens identified++

++Access Granted++

++Beginning download; packet_2.5++

One month beforehand...

The sea spray was as salty and it hurt when it was whipped at your exposed flesh like it was while the skiff made the difficult journey at her best possible speed in the growing storm. She stood there on the bow, thinking over her last conversation with her family. It hadn't been a good one.

_"Miho, why did you let your team down?" her mother had berated her. _

_"But mom! I couldn't let my teammates die! They were going to drown!" she had replied. _

_"No they weren't. I had specifically assigned a tank to recovery ops in case something like that happened. Didn't you pay attention at the briefing?" Maho interjected, scorn leaking through her words. _

_"So what you're saying is that you'd rather let them die over loose a match?" Miho was flabbergasted. Were her mother and sister human beings? Or just cold automatons?_

_"It wasn't just a match, Miho," her mother growled angrily, "It was the finals!"_

_"Emperor damn the finals! My friends were in danger! If I didn't do anything, they would have died!" Miho screamed. Her mother froze up. _

_"...don't you **ever** use that language in here again young lady. Do you understand?" her mother's voice was ice cold and full of menace she didn't know her mother could muster. _

_"Why? Who is this Emperor anyways? You've never let Grandpa back since he used it!" Miho was desperate to change the subject and keep the negative attention off of her. _

_"Your Grandfather and I...don't see eye to eye on some things," her mother said, her face completely controlled and fixed with an iron mask. _

_"Is that why he took Dad with him?" Miho kept pressing. _

_"Miho, somethings are best left unanswered," her mother said behind the mask. Maho had since melded into the wall, not wanting to be party to her sister's folly. _

_"No! Why? Is it because he thought like me? That you couldn't stand him?" her questions cut deeply, and her mother's mask of iron crumbled for a microsecond. _

_"Miho-"_

_"No! You don't care! You and Maho are just the same! You don't care about anything but winning the stupid matches! YOU DROVE OUR FAMILY APART, AND I DON'T WANT TO BE A PART OF YOUR FAMILY ANYMORE!" Miho was red with rage, having expended several years worth of pent up anger. _

_"Then go. Get out, and never look back," Shiho Nishizumi said from behind her mask, now glowing red (figuratively) from rage at being defied. She would not have Miho in her family's heritage. The girl had too much of her Grandfather in her, too defiant. She had to be taken care of. That much was understood._

And so, Miho stormed into her room, packed the few necessary items, grabbed as much cash as she could from around the house, and left for the docks. She was sitting on the bench waiting for the skiff to arrive when a familiar voice spoke up.

"Miho. You forgot something." That voice. Icy, with a mere hint of compassion, a voice matching only older Nishizumi women, and her mother would have exploded on her. That left...

"What do you want Maho?" Miho growled, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart, a sign of early onset panic-induced heart attacks.

"Here. To give you this." she held out a rather large box.

"...why are you giving me this?" Miho asked coldly, roughly taking it from her hated "perfect" sister.

"Because it's the last item of his in our house. Mother will like his influence being completely gone," Maho said with her trademark arrogant smirk. Then without saying another word, she left, leaving Miho staring at the olive drab green...metal? box in her hands.

"Now boarding, Skiff Alpha three to Ooarai Girls Academy. I repeat, Skiff Alpha three to Ooarai Girls High School, now boarding" the loudspeaker blared. Something in her twanged, and her subconscious told her to board the skiff. But no matter how hard she tried, Miho couldn't figure out how she knew to board it, or where she'd heard the name Ooarai. But when her stomach was filled with butterflies, it wasn't wrong.

So Miho boarded the skiff without much outward complaint. The vessel was a converted patrol boat, where the first officer kindly offered her assistance with her luggage. She shook her head negative, and just climbed into the bunk space and stowed her things as the patrol skiff got underway.

It had taken only a half hour for the curiosity to set in, with Miho staring at the box, curled up in an upright ball on her bunk.

_Maybe it's some sort of...hate mail? From Grandfather, or to Grandfather? Or...what is it made of? It's certainly not anything like the metal I've seen._ Miho thought. _Oh! Well I had better look before I die of anticipation._

Reaching across, Miho pulled the box closer, gazing at the faded symbols, a language she could barely understand, and a faintly gold double headed...eagle?...hawk?...bird-thing? Regardless, she opened the box and was completely mortified.

She was expecting something cute and cuddly, like pictures or a nice piece of jewelry or something from him, but...this? She picked it up and unfolded it, shaking it roughly to dispose of the dust.

It was her Grandfather's _awful coat_. The one her mother loathed with a burning passion. It had a huge and over exaggerated high collar, the frills on the gold securing braid...ugh.

"Madame Nishizumi, the captain has requested your presence on the bridge," the first officer said through the door.

"Alright, I'll be there in a minute," she answered. After a minute's thought, she called to him. "Lieutenant, what is the weather like outside?"

"Absolutely dreadful Madame," he responded kindly, "High winds and high spray, low temperatures."

"Thank you, Lieutenant."

"Anytime Madame."

Sighing, Miho threw the only coat she knew was capable of resisting the dreadful weather outside around her shoulders and trudged through the hatch to the first officer.

"Right this way please," he said, leading the way through the depths of the skiff to the entranceway to the outside deck, trying to hide his amazement at such an upstanding young lady wearing that gaudy jacket.

The wind outside was hard and cold, tearing through the thin material of her stockings without mercy. But she took solace in the fact that Grandfather's jacket was still up to the test of time, for the fabric stopped the wind in its tracks, even though it was only draped loosely across her shoulders.

After a short jaunt to the bridge, the first officer opened the door and she was in.

"Madame Nishizumi, a pleasure to see you," the captain said. He was a kindly old man, average height and build, if a little heavier set due to his time aboard ships. "My name is Captain Shota Tarou, master of this humble skiff. To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?"

"A family disagreement, Captain. I do not wish to discuss it, if you would be so kind," Miho explained cautiously.

"I understand Madame. We will be arriving at the Ooarai's fleet in three hours, if the weather holds, sooner if it clears up."

"Thank you captain. Is there anything else you needed me for?" she asked, a little impatient to get back to the solitude of her cabin.

"Ah, yes. The chef is preparing a meal in one and a half hours, if you would like to come and join us."

Her stomach growled at the mention of food. She'd forgotten to eat or bring snacks in the rush to get the hell out. "Thank you Captain, that would be splendid."

"Very well. I shall have the lieutenant here come to collect you when it is time," the captain nodded to the quiet younger man in the corner. "Enjoy your time here, and I shall see you back here for dinner."

After a sudden and inexplicable change of heart, Miho then waved down the offer to escort her back to her cabin, saying she'd prefer to walk the ship. On the top deck.

And that's where she was currently, staring off into the onrushing sea, searching for the signs of a school ship and the attending fleet. So far there wasn't any.

"Enjoying the view?" a voice asked from behind her.

"There's nothing to see but black clouds and rough seas. But I guess it's perfect for my mood," Miho said absent-mindedly.

"You should guard your thoughts more carefully young one," the voice was male and an old male, like the captain, only...kinder and rougher at the same time. If it were possible. Like a grizzled and scarred soldier talking to his chil-

Miho suddenly turned around and took in the spectacle before her. Her Grandfather was leaning against the railing, fully dressed, including his coat, or one like the one Miho currently wore around her shoulders. And smoking one of his trademark cigars.

"...Grandfather?" she asked, wide-eyed. He smiled.

"Glad to see you still recognize me, young one." He pushed himself off the railing and came to stand beside her. That's when she got a good, real good look at him. Yes it was her Grandfather, but he wasn't all there. As in she could see the faint outline of the railing on the other side of him! She gaped and looked up at him, eyes pleading for explanation, too shocked to speak.

"The Emperor works in mysterious ways that we, mere mortals, cannot comprehend except through the works of His Angels and Prophets," he shrugged and took a drag, "That is also why I am here, in spirit."

"What happened? And in spirit? What do you mean?"

"Well...your mother is...how do I put this nicely...she's the reason your father and I disappeared. She murdered us in this realm, and did so in a way that we cannot return to it, no matter how hard we try. In the Emperor's ever loving name, I am thankful that I had thought of this possibility before hand, and left a few items I wasn't too eager to leave lying about in the care of Kell. Namely, the jacket you are currently wearing. It's been imbued with plenty of psychic residue from me that it's how you can see and talk to me. You're channeling my spirit from outside this realm, out in the real universe." He puffed on the cigar, waiting for her response.

She was silent for a minute, trying to take in this information. Her mother _killed_ her father and grandfather! "H-h-how?"

"Well, it was quite easy once she had us good and drunk. A silent pistol. An air pistol, I believe."

Miho's shock wore off enough at her Grandfather's attempt at humor. "Not what I meant."

"Well, then your question should have been 'Why?', not 'How?' "

"Answer the question."

"Your mother is a servant of the Dark Gods. Depraved, manical, and completly devoted. In fact, she's due for an upgrade, should her eldest daughter make it into her cult."

"MAHO?!" Miho screamed. Her knees felt weak. She didn't know how to handle this. First her mother killed most of the men in her life that she respected, and now she learns that they're all dead at her mother's hand, with her sister next on the chopping block. _Yeah, Maho's a complete bitch, but that doesn't mean I want her to die._

"Yes. Maho will become your Mother's ticket to immortality."

"Why do you know so much about these Dark Gods?" Miho interrupted suddenly. Her eyes were full of suspicion and shock, evident as her knees were still shaking like leaves in a storm.

"I can see that look in your eye, child. You're right to be suspicious of me, but no. I'm not a servant of those depraved sons of bitches. I'm a servant of the God Emperor, and I have fought the Great Enemy my entire life. The entire purpose for existing, is to keep the hordes of the Dark Gods away from the greater Imperium."

"This God-Emperor. He sounds familiar. You've talked about him before, right? Mother kicked me out because I brought him up."

"Shiho Nishizumi kicked you out of the house because you brought up the one thing that can take away her power? Really?" the old man asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Miho growled, not at all excited about being played.

"The God-Emperor is the divine ruler of all human kind. He is benevolent, kind and merciful to His servants. He sacrificed himself to save the rest of Humanity from the Arch-Traitor Horus, and is currently in stasis on the Golden Throne, on Terra."

"Terra is another word for Earth, right?"

"Come again?"

"Terra. It's another word for Earth?"

"Not that I know of. All I can tell you is that the planet you're on is called Redoran, not Earth, much less Terra. "

"...what?" was all she could say, with a rather curious look on her face.

"Wipe that stupefied look off your face. Remember I'm not the only one who can see you," her Grandfather suddenly corrected. She mashed her lips together and set her jaw.

"You have another question?" Her Grandfather's kind voice returned.

"You're still alive, right?"

"That is how I am talking to you."

"Where are you?"

"Um...um...how do I...?" The stoic and confident man that was her Grandfather incarnate was actually stumbling on how to tell his favorite grandchild something. Miho thought he was playing around and felt her temper rise.

"Spit it out."

"I'm in another plane of existence, that's the best explanation I can give right now." He shrugged.

"Which plane of existence?"

"The same one that your mother and father came from, oddly enough. Unfortunately, your father didn't realize it until too late, and neither did I. Since then, I have learned from my mistakes. And you can be assured that I was and am overjoyed that you put my old uniform jacket on. And you don't need to tell me how that happened. I took the liberty of reading your thoughts."

"What?!" she cried in indignation.

"Sorry, I know it was not a nice thing to do, but I knew it'd save us a lot of time. For me, time is of the essence, since I cannot maintain this form indefinitely. I do have responsibilities in my own realm after all. Planets don't govern and protect themselves."

"I...understand. Although I don't like it," Miho sighed.

"It's alright child, I won't use it for malicious intents. Have you known me to do anything like that?" A smug smile and another drag on the cigar.

"Well...no" she said after a minute's contemplation.

"Good. Now then, you're going to be coming upon the...Ooarai fleet in a minute here, so I'd let you be."

"What? How long have we been talking?"

"Several hours, actually"

"Really? H-"

"The Warp is a mysterious thing. Sometimes we will be speaking for mere seconds when it really takes hours. Sometimes we will spend days speaking. You will have to pay close attention to the time, young one," Her grandfather said. He looked over the horizon, and smiled. "Look there. See? Your newest home. The Ooarai Girls Academy fleet."

The shape was unmistakable, even in the gloom. The ten kilometer long converted aircraft carrier pitched in the rough seas as the storm buffeted it. Still, it was smaller than the one Kuromorimine had, and that ship was bucking like a horse in the storm when she left.

"Is it safe to board?" Miho asked, suddenly afraid of drowning in the rough seas.

"Of course! I helped design and build this one after all. Not like that pompous ass of an engiseer who built your mother's ship. Forgot was his name was.," her grandfather said with a knowing grin. Then he began to fade in and out of focus. He put out the cigar he was smoking and put it in the pocket he always did, one of them on the inside. "Oh. Before I go Miho, there is something you should know. Those items that I've left on board this ship. I want you to find these objects, they'll have the Holy Aquila on them, so you'll know them when you see them. Alright? Alright. Emperor Protects."

"Wai-...! Damn it," Miho grumbled.

"Madame Nishizumi? Are you well? You were out here through dinner!" the first officer asked, cutting through the fog that she didn't realize had enveloped her.

"Yes, I'm fine, lieutenant, thanks for asking. Are we making best speed for the carrier?" Miho replied.

"Yes ma'am we are...um..should I let you be?"

"Please."

"Very well, Madame. You know where to find us if you need anything." With that he turned and left.

She watched the massive floating village draw closer and wonder exactly why she had chosen this academy. She remembered hearing about it sometime ago, but...agh! She shook her head in aggravation. She'd find the reason. But for now, she had a bit of information to digest. _Oh Emperor, is this really how you treat your servants?_

888

"I'm sorry Madame Nishizumi, but I'm afraid we didn't get your application. Are you sure that you sent it?" the receptionist asked.

"Absolutely. This is the Academy that doesn't have Panzerfahren?"

"Yes. We're the only one who doesn't. Something of a sore spot with the rest of the fleet," she replied. She was an older woman, weathered by the life at sea, but kind and caring than her mistress. (A/N: For those of you who didn't catch that, those who get the bug to sail on the sea have been known to say that the sea is their mistress. Goes back to early days of sailing/seamanship.)

"Then I'm sure I sent my application here. But if you truly can't find it, I'll be happy to fill out another one," Miho said cheerfully, praying to _someone_ that the receptionist bought her story.

"Super! Let me get you the form...wait a minute. Your parents. You look younger than sixteen. You'll need the-...oh. I guess not. Well, here's the application Madame," the receptionist said after seeing Miho's identification card.

Miho gladly took it and a pen and began to fill it out "Thank you," she said absent-mindedly, filling out the required information. Full name, date of birth, personal identification number, height, weight, physical description, medication, reason for transfer, transcript availability, previous institutions, etc.

Fifteen grueling minutes later, Miho's hand ached but the application was filled out. She handed it in to the receptionist who looked it over, nodding. "Good, good. Everything seems to be in order, and once we get your transcripts from...Kuromorimine? we'll be all set. Here's the key to your new apartment. Do you have any luggage other than that?" she pointed to Miho's rather large suit case. Miho shook her head.

"No, and I don't have much in the way of money, either..." she said. The receptionist laughed lightly.

"It's alright. Here on the Ooarai, we've got a nice allowance system for all students who keep their studies above a certain grade average. The better your grades, the more you get to spend!"

"That's lovely," Miho sighed happily. Things weren't going to totally suck. So what if her mother killed most of her family members? It's not like she was a part of that family anymore. And her mother didn't know where she was. There was no way she'd be able to find out. Away from the murderous whore Mother, bitch sister...Maho...who's going to die...oh, and Panzerfahren. Could this day get any better? _It could if I would stop worrying about that bitch Maho!_

"Alright, now school has already started, but it's only a week into the school year, and students have yet to pick their electives. I'll send a cab to take you to your apartment, is that alright?"

"Perfectly alright," Miho was beaming and giddy. _Hopefully no one realizes it's all a farce and asks what's really going on. That'll be hard to explain to even a normal person. _

++Download complete, packet_2.5++

++Thought for the day: If a man dies so that another might live, then he shall eat at the Emperor's table!++


	3. packet3

++Biometric scans complete, Homo Sapiens identified++

++Access granted++

++Beginning download; packet_3.5++

While her first day onboard didn't get any better, her second day could have had some work done to it. Everything was going smoothly, too. She'd woken up and slipped into her uniform without delay, her bed put up, and everything ready for school in ten minutes. And that was before she realized that Maho hadn't tinkered with her alarm again. "It's good to be not at home."

She rummaged through the closet for maybe some outerwear for the rather brisk morning, and came across her grandfather's coat and shuddered. _No, I won't do that. I was tripping on something last night, there was no other answer. But going on a spree of trippin' sheeet wasn't something the family advocated, even if they did advocate the sacrifice of the 'minions' to keep personal honor and reputation intact, and gain influence with terrible inter-dimensional beings. Where was the hon-_ Miho stopped thinking about it and focused on the weather report she'd pulled up on her laptop.

Well...it wouldn't be too cold for just the rather skimpy thigh-high uniform skirt she'd been given, but at the same time, if it got as breezy as it was supposed to, she'd be a little uncomfortable...

Wait a minute. A little uncomfortable? Miho laughed out loud. She, Miho Nishizumi, was worried about a little chill in the air? She shook her head at the absurdity of the situation grabbed her bag and began the walk to school after going over the map she'd been given once more. Shouldn't be too hard.

As she walked, she took in the sights and smells. The air was fresher than at home, and...bread?

Looking around the quaint town-like surroundings, she spied a bakery just down the street, at an intersection. _Just a block away_, she noted with glee. Checking her watch, her glee subsided as she realized that she didn't have enough time to get a roll.

Continuing down the street, a group of three other school girls passed her, wearing the same uniform she was.

"So..what's for lunch girls?" the one in front asked.

"I'm not sure. I heard that the nasty sushi chef was cooking today," another said.

"Egh. Wanna buy some bread and eat on the roof today?" the third asked.

"Yeah!" the other two agreed as the group passed out of earshot.

Well, at least she was going in the right direction. Eventually, she got to a massive complex in the center-ish part of the ship, just down the street from the town hall. On the side was Ooarai's emblem, a different take on the German Cross, and blue. At first Miho was a bit put off, but then remembered the history of the school ships.

At first they were all proud Panzerfahren schools, taking insignias from notable tank producing nations. Ooarai was second in line after Kuromorimine, and got to follow in the German's Wermacht Panzerkorps. Accepting that this was a school trying or had tried to emulate her old school was a bit disconcerting, but she'd get over it in time. She usually did. And it was time for classes to start. As the bell rang for the five minute warning, Miho slung the bag over her shoulder and jogged into the school.

The bell chimed three more times before she found her classroom, in the portside section, two floors up. She nearly was late, bursting into the classroom as the final bell chimed. The teacher looked at her suspiciously.

"Are you lost, miss...?" she asked.

"Is this Miss Hoshiko's history class?" Miho asked breathlessly, trying desperately to calm her breathing down and her cheeks to stop flushing from embarrassment.

"Why yes this is. You must be the new student I was informed of this morning. Please, introduce yourself?"

Nodding, Miho stepped into the front of the class and bowed. "Pleased to be here. My name is Miho Nishizumi."

"Hello!" the class replied.

"Miho, there's an empty seat right over there. Why don't you sit there?" she asked.

"Thank you," Miho said with a little bow and took her seat. Well, that wasn't _too_ bad.

888

The class ended four hours later, after a grueling and blessedly mind numbing lecture about the history of ancient China. Miho knew it was important to understand their neighbors, but four hours on the subject? That was just overkill, especially since China was so unstable nowadays, what with the over population and rioting.

She began to pack up when she accidentally knocked her pencil off her desk. She frumped and sighed. Bending down to get it, she knocked the rest of the stuff off her desk, spilling her open pencil case onto the floor.

"By the Emp-" she began to curse, but a voice interrupted her.

"Hey girl! Wanna grab some grub?" A voice from behind suddenly shouted.

"Ah!" she was startled by the sudden appearance and jumped out of her seat, going for a bow. They looked like upper classmen. The voice was cheerful and oddly...annoying? Perky? She couldn't place it. Looking up, the voice wasn't in front of her, nor to either of the sides, so that left- Behind her stood two girls, one tall and one shorter. The taller one was a rather well endowed brunette and the shorter one was a nicely proportioned redhead.

"Saori, you're scaring her! Stop it!" the brunette scolded.

"Oh..sorry! I didn't mean to!" the shorter one replied sheepishly.

"Now then, Miss Nishizumi, do you want to have lunch with us?" the brunette asked.

"Wha- me?" Miho asked, startled that _upperclassmen_ would ask _her_ to lunch. Such a thing was heresy at Kuromorimine.

"Yes you," Saori replied.

"Uh..alright?" Miho answered, not entirely sure what to make of this situation. They were silent until they were in line for the food in the cafeteria, when the two looked over at each other and nodded. Perhaps it was time to talk to their newfound acquaintance.

"I didn't know it was this easy to pick up girls!" Saori said, trying to break the ice.

"Saori! She's not 'easy'!" the taller one scolded again, and Saori shied away.

"...sorry..." she said meekly.

"Is she always like this?" Miho asked.

"No!" Saori exclaimed loudly, but withered under the glare from her taller friend. "...maybe."

"She's just a little quirky at times," the brunette said with a smile. Silence resumed for another minute before she spoke again. "You know, we've been wanting to talk to for a while now."

What? How was that possible? She didn't even know she was coming here until last night! "Um...how long exactly?"

"By a while, Hana means since you came into class this morning, late and flustered. You seemed so air-headed to be late on the first day that we decided to talk to you!"

"Gee. Thanks," Miho deadpanned. Hana shot her friend another look.

"What Saori meant was that we found it humorous and graceful at how you handled yourself up there, and we thought you'd make a good friend," Hana corrected.

"Well, now that that's out of the way, I'm Saori Takabe," Saori said.

"And I'm Hana Isuzu," Hana said.

"Nice to meet you," Miho replied.

"Here's your mackerel mash," the food server said and dumped a load of slop onto Miho's plate.

"Uh...what is this?" Miho dug her chopsticks into the pale mess of chunky much dominating her plate. The material stretched like melted cheese, and smelled of rancid tuna.

"The school's specialty. Mackerel mash. It may look like pasted fish, because it is, but it's really, _really_ good," Hana explained as they walked to an open table over by the windows. "You just have to hold your nose when you eat, and take a lot of breath mints after. I've got a few you can borrow."

They sat in a comfortable silence, munching on their food. Miho hadn't touched her mash, not really feeling up to eating pasted, rancid fish at the moment, especially since it looked like something regurgitated it onto her plate.

"Well, I already exceeded expectations for my first day here," Miho said, breaking the silence.

"Really? How?" Saori asked between mouthfuls.

"I've made two friends already!" Miho said enthusiastically.

"Good! It's always good to exceed expectations," Hana said proudly.

"Yeah, I agree. But then it becomes a matter of how you're going to top it the next day," Saori countered, "But, someone could confess their undying love to you, or multiple guys could, or your crush could be dating someone beneath them, or-" Saori trailed off, lost in her own mind as she came up with all possible combinations. Miho shot Hana a look.

"Yes, this is normal," she replied with a smile. Miho nodded slowly, trying to grasp what Saori was saying, but by this time, Saori was just babbling nonsense that sounded like it came from a romance novel. And not a good one.

"So where does your family live?" Hana asked, trying to pass the time until Saori was concious again.

"Um, I live in an apartment a few blocks away. My family didn't move with me," she said sheepishly.

"Something happen? Bad breakup? Divorce? Unforeseen inheritance? Unforeseen consequences?" Hana asked politely.

"I-I don't really want to talk about it. It's still a little sore," Miho muttered into her mush filled spoon, not realizing it was filled with mush until she ate it. _By the Emperor its good! Yeah, the texture was of pureed fish, but it _is_ pureed fish after all. It's not like that can be hidden._ "By the Emperor! This is amazing!"

"Told you!" Saori said finally snapping out of her reverie.

"No you didn't, I did!" Hana corrected.

"Nuh uh!"

"Uh-!"

"Hey! Let's finish this before it gets cold. Cold mush isn't good and it doesn't reheat well from what I understand," Miho suggested. The bickering couple nodded her understanding and dug into the delightful taste of pureed fish.

888

In a darkened room in the highest point in the ship, three girls gathered to discuss the future.

"Sir, don't you think that this is a bad idea?" the Vice asked timidly. The President of Ooarai's Student Council looked over at the almost whimpering brown haired, tall, and well endowed Vice. The glow from the bank of monitors before her cast an eerie blue glow across her face. The monitors gave the President an unobstructed view of the main areas of the ship, including the school grounds, the main hold, and the crew quarters.

"You should know better than to question her orders," the Captain of the school police said sternly from the other side of the President. The glow from the monitors caught her monocle and reflected it.

"It's alright Captain. She is my second in command for a reason. And no, I think this is the only option open to us."

"What do we know about her?" the Captain asked her commander.

"She's from Kuromorimine, little sister of their star commander. You do the math," the President said with a smug smile.

"She's a Nishizumi?" the Vice asked, wonderment in her eyes. "Why would a Nishizumi come here?"

"I'm sure she's got her own reasons, but whatever they are, she'll have to put them aside. This takes precedence."

"Is it right for you to make that call?"

"Do you want to be taken away from your friends? To be the last in a long line? A proud line? To go quietly into the night?" the President snapped. Her Vice hung her head.

"I'm sorry, Madame President. Forgive me." she apologized immediately.

"Damn right you should be," the Captain berated.

"Captain, enough! She's my second, and I will scold her as I see fit, understood?" the President scolded. The Captain stood ramrod straight, the action causing the light to stop reflecting off of her monocle.

"Crystal clear, Madame President."

"But I'll be damned if I go quietly into the night, just because we don't fucking have something that the rest of the prissy schools do. We'll show the superintendent that he's wrong. But to do that, we need her. We _need_ her, and she has to be on the team. No matter the cost. Understood?" The President turned back to the monitor bank and scrolled through the cameras until she found the subject of the conversation, the reddish-brown haired Miho Nishizumi. She was enjoying lunch with some students in the lunch room.

"Yes ma'am!" they said in unison. Only the Captain saluted.

"Good. Now help me come up with something so enticing that she can't possibly turn down. The assembly is in two hours, and we have to be ready by then."

With that, three students set about changing the hand of cards that fortune had dealt to them.

888

"So yea, I think the guys like me too much," Saori finished. She had just finished a thirty minute rant about her walk to school and all these guys "approaching" her who were really just being polite.

"Um...yeah Saori-" Miho began, but her attention was soon captured by the sound of feet marching in unison. This can't be good.

The classroom doors opened, and three girls stepped inside. One was a short redhead with long pigtails, one had black hair and a monocle that had this eerie glare on it, and the third was a brown haired girl who looked like a scared Chihuahua who was on the verge of a panic attack.

"That's her" the monocle brunette said to the short one. Hana and Saori grew pale.

"What?" Miho asked as the trio stormed closer, still in step.

"It's the Captain of the Hall Monitors, the Vice President and the President herself," Hana said timidly, "What are they do-"

"Miho Nishizumi. Outside. We have business to discuss," the Captain said. her glare icy. There was something that just demanded obedience. And she got it.

"Y-yes ma'am" Miho said almost saluting, and allowed herself to be escorted outside.

"Alright Miho, it's that time of year again. Time to pick the electives!" the short one said cheerfully, a direct contrast to the icy Captain.

"Um...yeah? I heard about that," Miho said. They'd been discussing it before Saori went on her rant about boys.

"I hope you take up Panzerfahren! It'd be a waste of your talent!" the President said.

"But don't I get to pick the elective...?" Miho asked timidly.

"Yeah, but you're going to pick Panzerfahren, I just know it!" the President said cheerfully. Under her cheer, Miho detected the malice radiating from the Captain.

"But I came here specifically because you didn't have Panzerfahren," she half-lied.

"Well, that's about to change this year! We've got it being resurrected, and we want you on the team! Must be fate!" her passive aggressive cheer was really getting old. _Grandfather said something about fate. And something about the Will of the Emperor._

"Thanks for picking it!" the President said as she walked off her subordinates in step behind her. Miho had a stunned look on her face while she watched them walk away, her mind awash with questions. She still had a blank look on her face when her math teacher asked her a question, which she didn't hear.

"Miho!" Miho snapped out of her wallowing and looked at the teacher, who was looking concerned. "Are you feeling unwell?"

"Yeah...it might be something I ate," she said weakly.

"Head to the Infirmary then," the teacher ordered kindly. _Apothecarium_ her mind automatically corrected to Kuromorimine's terminology as she stood up and meandered towards the door, a little unsteady on her feet.

"Miho, can you make-" the teacher was interrupted by Saori and Hana.

"Teacher! We'll escort her down there," Hana said.

"Very well. Go then."

They escorted her down to the infirmary and she told Hana and Saori about what the President had said. Then, as she lay in the infirmary bed, Hana and Saori discussed plans to defy the Council, as much a bad idea as that was.

"Alright, so Miho's family is the defining name in Panzefahren and the Student Council is strong arming her into doing it. But isn't that something you'd want to do? It's supposed to make you a better, stronger, more independent woman," Hana said.

"I heard it makes the boys fall at your feet," Saori said dreamily. Miho buried her face under the covers. "How many boyfriends have you had so far? How far did you go?"

"Are you a veteran?" Hana asked hesitantly. Images of her last battle fled through Miho's mind.

Thunderous downpour. Tanks. Large, heavy armor. Side of the mountain. Loose dirt. Landslide. A sinking tank. Screaming friends. A sunken tank. The silence of the grave.

"Hey, what's that?" Saori asked and pointed behind Miho. Between Miho and Hana, on the table, there lay a ring. A black ring with a double headed bird on it in gold.

"Ooh, it's pretty" Hana said, picking it up. Miho glanced over at it, and her eyes widened. Just what she needed.

"Can I see it?" Miho asked. Hana passed it to her and she slipped it onto her finger. Then the loudspeaker blared. "A-"

"Miho. Glad to-what in the Emperor's Holy Name happened to you?" her Grandfather asked suddenly, cigar in hand and looking down at her from across the room.

++Download complete, packet_3.5++

++Thought for the day: Peace is hell++


	4. packet4

++Biometric scans complete, Homo Sapiens identified++

++Access Granted++

++Beginning download, packet_4.5++

"So that's what's happened," Miho said, after her Grandfather's expression returned to the normal calculating expression, his smoldering and pungent cigar lay forgotten in his hand.

"Hm...I see. Well child, the only course of action is to drive onwards." he said with a shrug.

"What?! And give into their demands?" she demanded.

"From what I've seen its a typical strong arm technique used by Inquisitors. And it works because its either obey them or die. Here you'll only get expelled. But she's right. You've got a lot of potential in Panzerfahren, take after-"

"No! I will not be like my sister! I will not be like my mother!" Miho interrupted him viciously. Her Grandfather laughed heartily. "I refuse to accept anything to do with them! They accused me of heresy against the family doctrine! HERESY! And on top of that, MY MOTHER KILLED YOU AND DAD FOR SOME DARK GOD'S FAVOR!"

"Ah, child, spoken like a true Cadian. And that parade ground voice when you get angry!" he smiled proudly. "You do the family proud Miho, you know that?"

"No, I got banished from that fucked up organization because I tried to be a decent human being, or don't you remember that?" she asked hotly.

"I couldn't forget one of Shiho's largest mistakes. And I do remember the match. Yes, it's a tragedy what happened, your courage under fire is to be commended, but accidents happen, even in training. High speed and low drag wasn't the way to roll with the rain and mud, but Maho didn't care. That is a fact that you still hate her for. Wrongly hate her for, but hate nonetheless."

He took a thoughtful puff on the cigar before continuing. "But at the same time, she understood the risks and deemed the victory to be worth the risks, something any commander must do at one time or another. That's something I had to realize a long time ago."

"What do you mean?" she growled.

"My time is waning, so I shall give you something you're going to need later," he said and tossed her one of his cigars. "Take a quick puff. Don't worry you won't get addicted. I'm a specter in this world after all." She did as he said. Memories flooded her mind and were quickly locked away, but from the glimpses, it was of war. War on a scale she had yet to see, against enemies almost too horrible to imagine without going mad.

"-ttention students, gather in the gym. I repeat, all students gather in the gym." The loudspeaker blared.

"Miho? Are you okay?" Hana asked. "You spaced out and made some weird noises for a second there."

"No, I'm fine. We should go to the gym," Miho said, getting up and gathering her things. The other girls did likewise, and together they tromped down to the massive gym, where the stage at the front had a screen pulled down and the entire Hall Monitor compliment called out to stand guard before the stage, alert and at parade rest. _Like hell I'm fine. Grandfather just gave me something that I'm not entirely sure I want to contemplate. Damn it all to the fucking Warp!_

As they sat down, Miho took a look around the room with another set of eyes. Fields of view highlighted themselves, and she could hear conversations across the noisy gym. _What could the Council possibly be doing now?_ Miho wondered as the Student Council took center stage, in front of the view screen. The entire student body quieted down immediately before the Captain could speak. She looked like a hungry wolf.

"Attention student body! This year we are resurrecting Panzerfahren! To those of you who don't know what it is, we've prepared a video!" the President cheerfully announced. The lights dimmed and they moved out of the way of the screen, and a movie began to play.

"Panzerfahren!" the announcer said as a series of still pictures of tanks played by. Miho recognized a few of the designs, from the British Mk I and the German A7V. "This is tradition! This is culture!"

Then the screen changed to rows of stern faced and determined girls standing in formation. "Studied by girls from around the world to hone their character!"

Then it switched to a shot of girls mounting their tank, a Panzer IV, if Miho's memory served correct. "Girls study this martial art to hone their natural grace and define their feminism!"

They finished mounting and the commander gave the order to move out. The tank immediately lurched into motion, as graceful as it could possibly be.

Miho on the other hand, was absolutely appalled at the propaganda the Student Council was feeding the school. It was almost insulting at how corny it was. _And they expect us to just fall for this grox shit?_

"Studying Panzerfahren also means to study what it means to be a woman! Hot and hard like the iron armor, lovable like the clanking of the metal treads! Precise and powerful in passion like the roar of the main cannon!" The tank stopped and fired off a shot. From the resounding echo in the quiet hall, Miho realized that the moment it fired was taken at full, actual volume.

Then the view switched to rows of Panzer IV's rolling past in perfect formation. "If you learn the ways of the Panzer, you will be a good wife, a good mother, and successful in whatever path you choose in life. Countless men will fall before your iron will and your iron body. Come! Join us in Panzerfahren!" _Like hell it will. _

The video finally ended, and Miho breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't know how much more of that shit she could take.

"Woah..." Saori breathed. Hana was equally dumbstruck.

"Alright, listen up! The Panzerfahren international championships will be held in Japan in a few years, and the Prime Minister has decreed that all schools step up their Panzerfahren teams. That's also why we've decided to restart the team! I know you won't regret picking it! Vice, tell them why."

"The Panzerfahren member with the highest grades will be awarded one hundred food tickets, two hundred late pardons and triple credits on all courses!"

"Dismissed!" The Captain barked, and they walked off the stage as the student body dispersed nosily talking about what they just saw.

"OHMYGODIAMDOINGPANZERFAHREN!" Saori shrilled when they got outside. Miho's suspicions were correct. Her friends were enticed by it, and now there's no going back."I am going to be soooo popular...!" she trailed off, lost once more in her own world, but snapped back much earlier than usual. "Why don't you do it too? It's in your blood Miho!"

"But didn't we just have this discussion?" Miho asked, beginning to have the sinking resigned to the fact her friends were unreachable.

"We did, and I understand where you're coming from," Hana said with that _look _in her eyes," Flower arranging is my tradition, but...its Panzerfahren! It looks sooo much more exciting than flower arranging! I'm taking it!" She stopped and gave Miho a little bow. "I hope to learn from you!"

"I'm going home..." Miho said weak with defeat, "Still not feeling well." She didn't even wait for her friends to say goodbye before walking off. Nor did she return their farewells.

888

After completing her homework that night, she sat on her bunk, clutching her Grandfather's coat, breathing in the permanent cigar smoke smell. In a way, it was comforting. It helped her focus her thoughts.

_Should I even care about Maho? Should I care about my mother? Should I even care about these Student Council assholes?_

_Perhaps. Maybe. The Student Council, none that I've heard of at least, doesn't just go around that throw that kind of weight around without a good reason. A real good reason. And resurrecting Panzerfahren on a whim? I've done the math for Kuromorimine's yearly expenditures, and they're insane. Without government support and the constant winning streak we'd have dunk the ship years ago. Something's up. There's something they're not telling us. Why? Reasons. Everyone has their reasons. Like..._

_Mother. She had her reasons for killing off Dad and Grandfather, right? Right? But...those thoughts...heresy! Ahh! I have to steer clear of those thoughts, to remain pure. I am one of the few Emperor's servants in this realm now. I have to stay strong. _

_But what about Maho? Should she just be set in the role of lamb to the slaughter? She's always been trying to impress Mother, taking her attention away fro-...me. Away from me. To get rid of the need to have me around. To let me be me. She's never been a bitch, she's been my protector! I can't let her die! But...the dark gods. _

_Oh Emperor, give your lowly servant strength in her time of need...or what was that other prayer? The Emperor helps those who help themselves?_ Miho looked at the coat in her arms and the ring on the chain around her neck. Without another word, she slipped on the ring and threw the coat over her shoulders.

"Ah! You caught me at a bit of a bad time, child!" her Grandfather said as he materialized, his uniform tattered, bloody and twin pistols in hand.

"Sorry, I'll-" he interrupted her with a hand.

"You called me here for a reason, I am sure. My men will take care of me in the meantime. What can I do for you?" he asked, a not well-hidden fire burned in his eyes. Miho wondered what could possibly get her Grandfather up and moving so much.

"I want you to give me some of your earliest memories." she said simply.

"What does this have to do with anything?" he asked, pulling out a cigar and gently rolled it between his teeth after he holstered the twin pistols.

"Memories of you being brave, of you getting over obstacles, of being a hero!" she said. "I'm getting pulled into Panzerfahren whether or not I like it, and I'm not brave enough to go back."

"By admitting you're scared, you're braver than most. I've seen some of the worst that the enemies of Man can throw at us. I've seen cowards run in fright, I've seen men stand and fight to the last breath. But the difference between the two is not how brave they were. Both were scared out of their minds, but the hero, the one that stood his ground, he had two things going for him. He believed in the God Emperor of Mankind, and he admitted he was afraid and weak. The Emperor took it from there."

He then frowned. "But as far as memories go, I have already given you the ones you need, child. All you need to do is to go to sleep, and you will re-live them as if you were me. Now if you'll excuse me, I must go. My men are counting on me to lead them personally," he turned to leave, rolling his shoulders and slowing his breathing.

"But isn't there a possibility of dying?" she asked as he began to disappear.

"I couldn't look myself in the mirror if I didn't do my duty to the Emperor from the front, and lead them to the best of my ability, even with the possibility of dying being certain in most battles," her Grandfather said with iron resolve before fading completely from view, but not before he said "And there is something to be said about thwarting death time and time again," with a roguish grin.

Miho slowly hung up the jacket and put the ring on her desk. Tomorrow would be a new day, and she had some memories to live. She lay her head down on the pillow, and closed her eyes, preparing for sleep to take her into another world. Then darkness overwhelmed her and she was off. _Grandfather defies death and fate as a side job to his real job of leading men in the name of the Emperor. _

888

"Get down!" the cry rang through the trenches. Without thinking Miho threw herself down on the ground as horrible, screeching noises filled the air, then explosions shook the ground next to her. She lay there, occasionally glancing at the hate-red sky, frozen in fear as the bombardment stretched for what seemed unending hours.

"Lieutenant! The captain just bought it!" a bald man threw himself down next to her. Her face set itself a few notches back from horror. _These men will die if I just lay here and do nothing! If I do that, my parents, my family would have died for nothing. Merrick, Dale, Ypsil, all of them would have died for nothing. I cannot let them die in vain. _Her face went from sheer terror to grim and absolute determination. The men would die here if something wasn't done. Quickly she formed a plan in her head.

"Kell, get the men up and in a firing line. We're about to be hit," she ordered over the roar." And send over first squad! I've got a job for them. The rest of us, since we don't have time for something fancier, we'll hit them as they come over and drive them back to the Warp!"

"Yes sir!" he scurried off to relay the orders. She spent a moment on contemplation of back up plans, the thoughts congealing into concrete plans in seconds as her mind worked on the adrenaline flooding her system.

Presently, fifteen men clad in green and baje fatigues ran hunched over to Miho and set up a perimeter around them. One saluted.

"Lieutenant, you wanted to see me?" he asked as she returned the salute.

"I want your men to trust me on this one, okay?" she began.

"...of course. We remember Panka Square all too well. What'll you have us do?" the sergeant asked. Then Miho outlined the plan she had just cooked up in her head. It was risky, that was for sure, but enough survived, it just might work. But that was the trick, now wasn't it?After a minute or so of explaining the plan, a terrible cry came from across the field, audible just over the awful noise of artillery. _They were close._

"Get the casualties over the ramparts!" she ordered. Bodies of the fallen were tossed over the ramparts, their gear scavenged for everything it was worth, spare rations, charge packs, las guns, anything that might give the survivors an edge.

Unfortunately, the pickings for Miho were fairly slim, having only two bodies near her, and Kell was grabbing the other one. She searched the body for anything useful, and found a chainsword and a rare hell pistol, with two other charge packs. _These'll be useful._ she thought as she pressed the activation stud on the sword, which started with a roar, and the whine of the adamantium blades spinning along the gore encrusted track.

"Incoming!" a soldier shouted from down the line. Miho looked out to see a wave of heresy sweeping towards them.

"Hold your fire!" she shouted. She wanted them closer, much closer. So close that her troops couldn't possibly miss. The traitor legions let up another roar as they charged across the killing plains. They crossed the one kilometer mark.

"Steady." she said at a trooper who looked ready to bolt any second now. The traitors passed the five hundred meter mark.

"Keep your weapons up. As they make it past one hundred meters, we'll hit them," she said with more confidence than she felt. Two hundred meters. Tense minutes fell away like seasons as the legions kept coming, unnatural, powerful fervor driving them like dogs. One hundred fifty.

"Open fire!" Miho roared as the heretics came close enough to discern individual features, and leapt over the ramparts. She aimed the pistol at a horrific sight. Blood and gore covered their uniforms, they smelled like rotting corpses. Nothing was sacred but the spilling of blood to these people. If they could still be called human anymore. _Heretics. The only good heretic is a dead heretic. Abhor the mutant, purge the heretic, kill the alien, all with the Emperor's Holy Vengeance burning bright in your heart. _

She pulled the trigger as fast as the pistol could cycle, red light beams blasting holes in the flesh of the onrushing soldiers, spraying blood everyone behind them. They seemed to enjoy it if anything. First one took a bolt to the face, completely annihilating it. The second took one to the shoulder, spinning him around and decapitating his comrade with his swinging blade. The third lost a leg to the angry-red laser, and was then trampled underfoot. Even with the recoil being so low, aiming was still difficult, with the weapon's tiny pin-prick sights.

Up and down the line in either direction, she could also hear the heavier DAKKADAKKA of the platoon's heavy bolter, joined by the platoon's other heavy weapon, the CHOOMCHOOM defining the roar of the autocannon.

And no matter how many she shot (she'd lost count a long time ago) or were shot by the troopers behind her (she didn't even bother), more kept coming, coming for blood. Coming to kill her in the name of their heretical gods.

The only thing her body seemed able to do in the face of the horror before her was to keep firing. To keep pulling that trigger. To remove one more heretic from Humanity's purge list. Just one more.

Before she could think of a backup plan, the blood soaked horrors were within arm's reach. She threw the pistol to the ground, not having the time to holster it in her battle harness, and swung the sword with all her might, roaring her defiance in the face of their heresy. The first swing took a heretic's arm off, but he still kept trying to fight through the immense pain. He was put down by a shot from behind Miho, probably Kell.

The second swing took off his head, ending his heresy there and then. But as tired as she was from using muscles not used to moving in this fashion, there were more on the way. She drew the pistol again and fired off a shot, taking half of a heretic's face off. The follow up shot took care of the traitor behind him.

Just inside her peripheral vision, something moved. She tucked and rolled to one side, narrowly avoiding a bloodied axe that buried itself in the group she had just occupied.

"Don't let up!" she roared, and that was when she realized that in the course of the melee, she had moved forward, up and out of the trenches, out in front of her men, who were shooting around her. So long as it kept them alive, she didn't care. She'd take on all the heretics on Cadia to keep them away from her men. They roared a battle cry in response and doubled the amount of fire at the heretics.

"For the Emperor! For Cadia!" she cried again. The signal was given.

They roared back "For Cadia!". Then the heretics and the rest of Miho's platoon got a surprise. The ground beneath the traitor's feet moved. The bodies shifted. Barrels that had been poking in oddly convenient directions for the dead now flared to angry, red life. Some of first squad even leapt up, brandishing officer's power weapons and other melee weapons and joined Miho.

With fresh soldiers and fresh weapons, it allowed a few precious seconds for the hot lasguns of the rest of fifth platoon to cool down, before the firing started once more in earnest.

Miho ducked under the swing of one traitor and drove her roaring blade into hi-_her_ chest, rending flesh and bone from one another in a warm spray of blood, and wrenched the chainsword up, removing the heretical head from her ruined and tarnished body. _An act of mercy_ she told herself as she moved to wipe the hot blood off of her face.

A roar of anger behind her snapped her back to the present and out of reflex, she thrust her blade towards the sound. A parry met the challenge, as a Bloodied of Khorne swiped her blade away, leaving her wide open.

Thinking quickly, she dropped low, trying to bring her blade up close again, but he was too close. _This is it..._ she thought with resignation, before the Bloodied bloodied her uniform with his blood as a las bolt took away half of his face.

"For the Emperor! Protect the Lieutenant!" Kell shouted as he pumped shot after shot around Miho's dancing frame.

The platoon responded by focusing their fire on the enemies directly surrounding their Lieutenant, paving the ground around her red and black with a horrific mix of bloodied limbs and charred flesh.

The savants of the Dark Gods stood no chance. And it wasn't until the traitors were repulsed did they realize it, some grueling forty-five minutes later. The last man to fall was a traitor, himself cut in half by an exhausted Miho, who barely found the strength to keep standing, much less fight.

They stood still for a moment, taking in the victory that had just been wrought from the jaws of defeat. Miho? She slumped down onto the ground in sheer exhaustion, and Kell came up and offered a large cigar. She shook her head no.

"Com'on, Urse, it'll calm your nerves," he said.

"What makes you think I need it?" she asked tiredly.

"I've been with you since boot. I know you better than you do, Emperor damn it. Take the damned cigar," he said with a smile. She nodded after a minute of contemplation and took it from her lifelong friend, who lit it for her. She took a long drag on it, and true to his words, it calmed her nerves. It even had a smooth rich cherry flavor to it.

"Woah," she said, exhaling smoke. Her hands were beginning to steady, so she took another, longer drag on the tabacc stick. As she sat there, calming her nerves with body destroying narcotics, Kell kept a quiet and watchful eye on the rest of the troops, who had begun to realize the scope of the devastation that has been wrought.

In the end, despite Miho's ingenuous plan, over half of the original compliment, 64 total troopers of the fifth white shield platoon, second auxiliary battalion, attached TAD to the Cadian 8th Regiment were dead, or were having the Emperor's Mercy administered to them by their comrades. The remaining twenty-five or so were mostly walking wounded, save for a few lucky souls, like herself. A grisly cost to hold the line. But damn if she wasn't proud of them for doing it. Kell snapped her out of her internal reverie.

"You ready?" he asked and reached down.

"Yeah. I owe you one," she replied, taking his hand and hauling herself up.

"Lieutenant!" one of the wounded survivors said. She turned to face him. "Yes?"

"I think you'd want this, sir!" he said, holding out a pistol belt with another hell pistol on it with charge packs on it. She smiled.

"You're right Private, I do want this," with that, she slipped on the belt and adjusted it for her hips, so it sat just right. The weight was very comforting. Picking up the other pistol, she slid it into the empty holster before turning to the exhausted men.

"When we make it back to the city, I'm buying you all a case of the strongest booze you can find!" she roared. The men cheered as they rallied around their lieutenant. Her face went from jubilant to grim in a hair turn, causing the faces of the men to falter. "But for that to happen, we've got to get through this town to the south of us, over here. Our vox caster was taken out in the initial bombardment, so we're on our own for now. But because of that, command should, in theory, be sending us some reinforcements. In the mean time, we've got no choice but to hunker down and hold the line until relieved. Am I understood?"

"Sir! Yes Sir!"

"Good. The most critically wounded have been dealt with?"

"Affirmative."

"Excellent. The rest of you, rest up. I'm expecting an enemy assault before next daybreak, and you'll do us no good tired. I've got first watch."

888

Miho woke with a start to her alarm, still smelling the cigar smoke she knew wasn't there. She could even smell the blood. _Oh, by the Emperor the blood!_ The horrible metallic stench combined with the smells of rotting corpses and the cries of the dying...she shuddered.

_How did Grandfather live through that?_ she wondered. Then she looked at the signup sheet, and shook her head. No, she couldn't do this. She couldn't! Then she thought of her Grandfather and his actions last night. Of his determination, of not letting another soul die that didn't need to.

Upon reflection of her own actions, she realized that she was being...selfish. She needed to make sure that Kuromorimine wasn't the representative school. Ooarai was the obvious choice for her. She knew what she had to do. But that didn't make it any easier to do it. She had to face her fears and get over them to beat Kuromorimine.

She got dressed and began the long walk to school. _It's going to be a long day_, she thought, feeling the unearthly weight of the piece of paper that contained her choice of elective.

888

On the way to school, a few planes flew overhead. The noise scared her shitless, and she dove for cover behind a building, pressing herself up against the side, scanning for the planes. When she did spot them, they were the a flight of ME 109's from another school ship in the fleet. The Aces club must've been practicing. N_ot anything to do with those monsters_.

She scolded herself harshly under her breath and resumed the walk to school. As much as she was loath to admit it, her mind was still awash with blood. _Blood I didn't spill, but did spill. Men and women I did and did not save. _

As she sat in the Emperor-damned class and counted down the seconds until it was time to turn in the damned paper. As the final minute ticked down, she abandoned her sense of duty and signed up for festivity planning and organization and turned it in.

"Hey Miho...!" Saori called. Her cheer fell when she saw Miho's expression.

"Something the matter? You look awful" she asked.

"I-I just couldn't do it," she said weakly, ashamed of herself. Hana looked at Miho's sign up form and nodded glumly. Panzerfahren wasn't selected. They sat down at a desk and Saori hugged her.

"We're sorry for putting you through this," Hana said, and crossed out her choice and selected Festival Planning as well. Saori did likewise after she stopped hugging Miho. "We'll go with your choice."

"But you guys don't need to do that..." she tried, but failed to muster up the will power to fight them on this.

"Nonsense! If we did, we'd be talking about things and you might get a flashback that you don't want," Saori said confidently. _Flashback? Hell, I get those anyways. Still, they're worried, and that means a lot to me._ "That and I'll be able to take up whatever my boyfriend is taking!" _...aaaand there's-wait, what?_

"What?" Miho asked with a confused look on her face.

"My boyfriend!" Saori's explanation sounded more like a prayer than a fact.

"Thanks," Miho said weakly. That flame-brain didn't make one ounce of sense. Not. One. But, after looking at the clock, Miho was a little more reassured. _Perhaps I'm out of the fire._ "I owe you guys one. A big one."

"It's what friends do for each other," Hana said with a gentle smile.

"Don't worry, we'll collect your debt later!" Saori chided.

"Saori!"

"Question, though Saori," Miho pondered, deciding to let her curiosity get the better of her and address the second largest elephant in the room.

"Yes?"

"Aren't you too dum-...single?"

888

Later that day, in the cafeteria, Miho and her friends were enjoying lunch as the school chattered excitedly about what they had chosen. Unfortunately for Miho, most of the girls around her table had chosen Panzerfahren as their elective. Needless to say, it didn't improve her mood.

"Oh! You chose Panzerfahren as well?"

"Yeah! My boyfriend is really excited about it! He says he wants to see me in my uniform!" Giggles. Lots of giggles. Miho's eye twinged as the giggling reached epic proportions from the other table.

Hana and Saori just sat across the table, looking at their clearly stressing friend, debating if they should step in and say something. And if they did, who would they say it to?

"Are you excited about it?"

"Yeah! It's supposed to be the traditional way of the woman! I mean, whoever heard of men driving tanks?" Miho's mind immediately sifted through her new memories to bring forth pictures of men driving large, massive, terrifying tanks, larger than even the Maus that Kuromorimine had resurrected. And that was the standard battle tank of Grandfather's time. _The Leman Russ Main Battle Tank, Baneblade Super-Heavy Assault Tank, Chimera Armored Personal Carrier. The backbones of the Imperial Guard._

"Hey, wanna get some sweet potato ice cream on the way home?" Saori inquired, finally breaking the silence.

"What's so special about it?" Miho asked. Saori looked dumbfounded while Hana explained.

"It's Ooarai's specialty. Every port we've ever been to has clamored for our ice cream."

"Some also call them parched potatoes," Saori added. Then the loudspeaker above them chimed.

"Miho Nishizumi in standard class two-alpha, report to the Student Council chambers. I repeat, Miho Nishizumi, report to Student Council chambers."

"Uhhh...Miho, do you want us to come with you?" Hana asked. Miho gulped in reply. The Captain scared her. Terribly. Then she remembered the dream last night. How she stood, shooting at the heretics, daring them to kill her, while the men behind her kept shooting, and kept her alive.

"Yeah, I think you'd better come with me," she said, feeling like she was about to face another horde of heresy. "This might get ugly."

888

"_What_ the **_hell_** am I reading?" the Captain growled, shoving Miho's submission form in her face. They stood in the Council's inner chambers at the school, where the President ran the school on a day to day basis. At the moment, she was looking bored as she toyed with something on her computer, as if the matter before her didn't have a monumental outcome.

"Why didn't you pick it?" the Captain scowled. Beside her, the Vice looked like she was going to burst into tears at any moment. "You're the only hope we have of having a decent team this year!"

"Oh God! I knew it was the end!" the Vice shrilled and hid her face in her hands. _Done for? Does this mean that my actions impact the _entire_ school body? Can I live with this decision then?_

"Don't be so selfish!" Saori scolded, catching the three officers off guard. Hana looked like she was watching her best friend dive off a cliff into a pool of lava. In other words, horrified beyond the point of coherent words. They were in front and slightly to each side of Miho, like her guards. _Why can't I speak? It was so easy to kill dozens of people, but talk to the Student Council President?_

"Are you really going to force her to do something she doesn't want to do, and has stated it many times? Leave. Her. Alone." Hana asked, the implications of her words clear in meaning. The Captain scowled. So someone else could play that game?

"You keep going on like you are," the President sighed with boredom, "And you'll be expelled. End of story."

"That's a coward's tactic, using threats like that," Hana said coldly. _I'm a coward_, Miho twanged at the thought.

"You think she's joking about this?!" the Captain was seething with barely controlled rage. The Vice stepped in to calm down the situation before it got out of hand.

"Please. The President doesn't make idle threats. She makes promises. Please apologize and take Panzerfahren before you go too far!" she begged.

"This is terrible!" Saori cried. _Grandfather didn't want to fight. He was scared in that trench. But if he didn't fight, a lot more men would have died, including him. And Uncle Kell. _

"Tyrannical beyond Stalin! Beyond Hitler!" Hana added.

"Such is the privilege of the Student Council. And as students, you're forgetting your place" the Captain parried with equal malice.

_Why are they here if they want to go into Panzerfahren? Me. That's simple. But why me? Because I am their friend? We've barely known each other for more than seventy-two hours, and yet..._she trailed off in thought as she looked at Saori and Hana, both flustered and clearly getting more and more entrenched in their positions of defending Miho._...they're here with me. They consider me enough of a friend to fight for me. And friends never let one another down, no matter what. Grandfather didn't let his down when they needed him most. And I'll be damned if I let them down when they need me._

"You can't force her to do this!"

_Kell. He didn't know what my Grandfather was planning, but he went along with it anyways. Because they were friends, lifelong friends. They'd saved each other's life on numerous occasions and were nigh-inseparable. _

"Miho won't do it no matter what you throw her way or ours!"

_Hana and Saori, are they my closest friends? Are they the ones I can trust to save my life?_ Miho looked at them sparring with the Captain and President, both of whom could end their terms here at Ooarai here and now. They didn't seem afraid. The fire in their eyes was undeniable. _They're brave because they're standing beside me. They're fighting for me. And I must fight for them. It is only right._

"...fine..." Miho growled. Her anger began to smolder, like the end of a cigar.

"What was that?" the Captain said harshly. The smolder suddenly flared up as if promethium was poured onto it.

"I said FINE!" Miho roared. Everyone but the President was taken aback. "I'll take fucking Panzerfahren! Happy?!"

"You have no idea," the President smiled as the Vice jumped up and down for joy. Even the Captain seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"And with that, you three can leave school early for the day," the President said, "Practice is after school tomorrow though."

The three friends left the inner sanctum of what they now considered to be evil and went to the nearest and only ice cream shop on board. They needed something to chill.

Miho was silently seething with after-effects of her outburst even as they sat down to some on-the-house ice cream.

888

Late that night, Miho put on the jacket again, calling up her Grandfather's spirit. He looked better than yesterday, still bloodied, more dirty, but not as harried and haggled.

"Hi Grandfather!" she said with very forced enthusiasm. After all the gorging on ice cream, the only thing chilled was her brain, and it hurt like a bitch.

"Child, you should know better than to feign happiness around me," he said, seeing right through her guise. "But tell me why you wanted to put it up anyways? Did you finally take part in that sport that your mother and sister are internationally recognized in?"

"We're on a no talking basis about those two."

"But what about studying their tactics? They're straight as a las bolt and never miss their target."

"Aren't they considered heretics in the eyes of the Emperor?"

"In the eyes of His servants, yes. No one knows how the Emperor will judge others. It's one of the great mysteries that some men have spent multiple lifetimes trying to unravel."

"So aren't I supposed to oppose and abhor everything the heretic offers?" Miho asked skeptically. Her Grandfather laughed heartily. "I see the faith I put in you wasn't misplaced."

"I've got the feeling you knew this would happen," Miho growled.

"There was always the chance, no matter how small," her Grandfather smirked.

"Just say it damn you!" she growled. "What else is out there for me? Tell me!"

"Your wish is my command. Just. As. Planned." That annoying smirk didn't leave his face though.

"What about what you've got waiting for me? I believe I just found I don't like being manipulated."

"Well, training will be fun. After that, save the world on your own terms. I'll be here if you need advice," he pushed off the wall he was leaning against and made for the door. "It's time for me to go back. I'll talk to you if you need me child."

"...there's nothing more you didn't tell me about?" she asked, still boiling.

"Well...maybe. Sweet dreams!" he said before disappearing from view.

"Damn. Him." Miho seethed. _It's going to be another long night, isn't it?_

888

"Lieutenant! Get your men into position over on the far flank," the Captain said sternly. Miho looked over the tactical data that was in front of her, on a..._dataslate_. The enemy had been identified as the infamous Blood Pact, horrible butchers across multiple systems, highly organized for Khorne worshippers.

They'd deployed their forces rather straightforward, in a line of skirmish around the city, all of their armor on display. Not very surprising. These were Khorne's savants after all, not Tzeentch's. They'd taken one of the fortress cities, and it fell to Creed's Regiment to retake it. They _would_ take it, or he would cast himself into the Eye of Terror himself.

"First platoon! On me!" Miho shouted above the clanking of tank treads as a mechanized Regiment filed past. Her platoon gathered around in a circle around their leader, Kell at her side, impassive as ever. "The Captain's given us the okay for the retake. We're going to be infiltrating from the south...here. Kell, I'm going to need you to take first squad and mount up in a Chimera. Try one with a flamer in the hull, would you? Lure the traitors in close and then hose them with everything."

She got a nod from the normally loud mouthed non-com.

"Second and third squads, you'll be covering the advance of the Chimera from three hundred meters east of the Chimera. Take it nice and quiet, but don't let yourselves get surrounded or separated visually from the Chimera. We're going in without vox-beads, because the traitor's have started to take them off of the dead we don't get to."

"Aye sir!" Second squad's sergeant acknowledged.

"Fourth and fifth, you're with me on the far right flank. As the Chimera takes care of the bulk of the traitors, we'll clean up any that get ideas."

"What's next Creed?" fourth squad's sergeant asked.

"We meet up in ten mikes. Get anything you think you're going to want and stow it on the Chimera. Extra ammo and med kits. Stuff your pockets as well. This'll be one for the Adminstratum. Now move out! Emperor Protects!"

++Download complete, packet_4.5++

++Thought for the day: Every lone spirit doubts its own strength++


	5. packet5

++Biometric scans complete, Homo Sapiens identified++

++Access Granted++

++Beginning download, packet_5.5++

The day was shining brightly as Miho, Saori and Hana walked onto the practice field with the old hangers. Miho remembered the machine pits at Kuromormine where the underclassmen were abused by the upperclassmen, and of the machine pits in the dreams her Grandfather had given her, where red robed...cyborgs did unknown things to the vehicles to repair them. She shuddered. _This'll be a particularly long day, won't it?_

The structure that housed the tanks had five individual hangers with enough room for what looked to be two tanks each, provided they didn't have a Soviet T-28 stashed somewhere. While Ooarai might not be able to do much money wise, ten tanks was still a formidable force to be reckoned with no matter what. _Unless you had the entire team _

Miho looked around the people gathered there. So far, there were four distinct groups. One had a bunch of girls dressed in volleyball uniforms and chatting among themselves. They looked rather...put off.

"Hana, we should introduce ourselves" Miho said quietly, eying the quiet, shifty looking and edgy volleyball players. "It's what I remember doing on my first day at Kuromorimine, and it's what I did after I fully joined. But those-"

"Yeah! That's a good idea!" Saori interrupted and began dragging her friends over to the aforementioned pit of despair known as the area that was occupied by the volleyball club.

"But what do we say?" Hana said worriedly as they neared certain doom.

"I'll handle that," Miho assured her friend with more confidence than she felt. _We're soo totally going to die. And at the hands of Saori. EMPEROR DAMN IT!_

"Hello!" Saori shouted with overflowing cheer. The collective angst of the volleyball players was then turned on her without hesitation. She shrank back, the overwhelming amount of angst quashing her hopes like a tsunami.

"I'm Miho Nishizumi! These are my friends Saori Takabe and Hana Isuzu. What's yours?" she asked with forced cheer._ Their angst is strong, but my faith is stronger!_ The nearest volleyball player looked pretty butch to her, but whatever. Her hair was cropped short and she was shorter than the rest of the players. And speaking of short, the girl came up to her chest.

"Noriko Isobe," the tiny brunette said flatly, her eyes judging. As if accepting the newcomers, Norkio gestured to the girls behind her."Taeko Kondu, Shinobu Kawanishi and Akebi Saski." Purple haired and taller than Noriko; brunette and taller than Noriko; blonde and taller than Noriko; respectively, Miho noted. Also with larger chests too. And in volleyball shorts, which Noriko was not wearing. Odd.

"Didn't that get closed down?" Saori asked bluntly. Noriko tried to pay it no mind, taking deep breaths, but it didn't work. Her teammates looked away, not wanting to see their Captain's reaction.

"Yes, that is why we're waiting for Her Excellency instead of having our normal club competition. We were promised our club's resurrection if we joined and won the tournament."

"She recruited you with that?" Saori gawked. Hana snarled a curse to the heavens as she bludgeoned the carrot-top once more across her head.

"Damn it Saori, they're our teammates. Calling them stupid isn't going to endear us to them."

"Is she always like this?" Noriko asked, looking pointedly at Saori. Miho looked to Hana, and Hana looked too angry to answer properly.

"We're working on it. She's special. Like teaching a baby the alphabet," Miho said at length.

"But I know the alphabet!" Saori protested. Noriko's eyes lit up. _She understands_.

"I understand," she nodded towards Saori, "Best of luck to you both. "

Saying their parting remarks and keeping Saori quiet, Miho approached the next group, a bunch of girls dressed in..odd fashions. The one the group was centering around was blonde and wore a German field cap and desert issue field jacket.

"Hallo Fraulein! Ein Schӧnes Tag um Panzer zu fahren, nein? [Hello Miss! Beautiful day to drive tanks, no?]"

"Um, excuse me?" Saori asked.

"You'll have to excuse Erwin. She loves to whip out her German whenever she gets the chance," a brunette wearing a red scarf said with a sigh.

"Ah. Well I'm just trying to get to know people's names. I'm Miho Nishizumi, and this is Saori Takabe and Hana Isuzu. And you all are?"

"Erwin" the blonde girl said with a German accent.

"Ceaser," Red Scarf declared.

"Saemonza." _This one's missing an eye?_ Miho wondered. _The poor girl._ Otherwise she was a pretty red-brown mix with some sort of Japanese banner for a head band.

"Is something wrong with your eye?" Saori asked bluntly. _Saori!_

"No, it just feels natural, you know?" Saemonza asked back. Saori shook her head mutely.

"I'm Oryou" said the black haired girl wearing the jacket and glasses at the end of the line.

"Are you guys the history club?" Hana asked.

"Ja. How could you tell?" Erwin asked.

"Let's see, pale skin, freaky cost-hmmphm!mhphmh!" Saori was fuming as Hana threw her hand over Saori's mouth to cover up another social blunder. Miho caught her breath and decided for a tactical retreat before things turned into a rout.

"We're going to go and talk to the last team over there," Miho said, blushing at the embarrassment and the looks that Erwin was giving them. Then she shrugged.

"Alright. Have fun Fraulein."

Miho nodded her thanks to the smirking half german girl and made her way over to the last group while Hana stayed and apologized.

"Hey! I'm Miho Nishizumi, and I'm just trying to get to know the names of my teammates before we get going," she introduced herself loud enough to cut off Saori from saying something stupid. Again.

"Hello Miho! I'm Asuza Sawa. These are my friends Ayumi Yamagou, Saki Maruyama, Karina Sakaguchi, Yuuki Utsugi and Aya Oono," A girl looking remarkably like Miho said.

"You girls are all freshmen, right?" Miho asked. They nodded nervously.

"Should we be worried about being hurt by the shells?" Saki asked.

"No, not at all Saki," Miho replied, "Its actually one of the places that Panzerfahren advanced war gaming all over the world, by producing a shell that can immobilize a tank without seriously harming the crew."

"How do you know that?" Ayumi asked.

"Well...because I wasn't very good at Panzerfahren when I first started," Miho said meekly, staring at the ground. "My sister would purposely set me up to get ambushed and knocked out first, to tell her better commanders where the enemy was."

"That's mean!" Asuza declared. Miho shrugged.

"It's not like I thought my sister was the kindest person in the world," Miho shrugged. "But I'm away from her and with you girls, so things shouldn't be too bad. Even if conscription is a thing here."

Then the chatter that had permeated the grounds stopped as the Student Council stepped into view. Miho quickly back tracked to her friends, who had already retaken their original spot.

"Welcome to Panzerfahren training!" the President declared, and no one cheered. The Captain coughed and the crowd went wild with cheering and back slapping and high fives galore. Then she coughed again and they quieted down.

"Hey, are we getting a King Tiger?" Asuza asked "Or was it a..." She trailed off as the doors to the first garage were opened, revealing a dusty and rusty Panzer. Miho recognized it as a Panzer IV, Ausf D, if she wasn't mistaken. The tracks were off and gone somewhere, there was a shit tone of rust on the hull, and was that the stench of something mildewing inside? Miho groaned inwardly. _This will take FOREVER to fix._

"Hey!"Aya shouted.

"What's this?" Saki asked.

"Where's all the Panzers?" Erwin asked.

"There's potential for art here...in a rusty, musty sort of way," Hana added helpfully.

"That's not art, that's a piece of shit!" Saori corrected. Miho walked up to the tank and ran her hand along the side armor and the plating, getting a feel for the grain of steel. She then tried to move the idler wheel, which, if it was in first gear, it would take all her might. She grunted groaned and then it moved a fraction of a centimeter with a little *click.

"Miho...? Are you on something" Saori asked her struggling friend. _Yep, this was about as good as it was going to be at the moment. Not _as _bad as I thought it originally was, but..._

"You shouldn't be so hard on it," Miho said suddenly, sending the rest of the team into silence. "The armor is in good shape, and the moving parts aren't rusted in place. We'll have to make it do. But it could be worse. A lot worse."

"How much worse?" Asuza asked.

"Like there not being anymore tanks on the ship worse," Miho deadpanned. "We'll need a total of five, maybe less, maybe more depending on what we find. For the moment, we just need more. Plain and simple."

"And just like that, Miho has brought up the first item of your training!" the President said joyfully. "You get to go tank hunting!"

"Tank hunting?" Saori asked.

"Panzerjӓger [Tank hunter]" Erwin grinned like a fox."Mein Lieblings [My favorite]"

"Do you have any idea where we should look?" Ceaser asked.

"Well, if we did, do you think you'd be hunting them?" the President asked.

"Any ideas, at all?" Miho asked. The President shook her head.

"Nope! Now get to work! All of you! Scram!" The Panzerfahren teams began to disolve into their original groups and head off in different directions. Except for Miho's group. Saori leaned herself against the Panzer and sighed. "Not what I thought about for my first day of Panzerfahren."

"Relax Saori, the instructor coming tomorrow's one of the best!" the President said, and it didn't really help matters much.

"Gaaaaaaahhh" Saori groaned. Miho reached over and smacked her on the head.

"Buck up. We've got Panzers to find," she said sternly. By now, the entire team had dispersed except for one short haired brunette who had the look of a tomboy. She shied away from Miho's gaze, ducking out of sight.

"If you want to look with us, by all means come along" Miho called to her. The girl peeked out from behind the door she was hiding behind.

"A-a-are you sure?" she stammered.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Miho countered.

"Um...alright. I'm Yukari Akiyama, from standard education class 2-A," she introduced herself with a bow.

"This is Hana Isuzu and Saori Takabe," Miho gestured to her friends, "I'm-"

"Miho Nishizumi, youngest daughter of the Nishizumi family," Yukari said, "I already know."

"Noticed," Miho said, undecided on whether to be flattered or unnerved.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Madame!" Yukari then _saluted_. Miho wondered idly if her Grandfather had to deal with any of this. Hero worship. Ugh.

"Don't salute Yukari, I'm no one's superior," Miho sighed. Yukari dropped the salute and her face fell. _Ack. Shit. Gotta fix this somehow..._

"Hey. I just want to be treated as an equal, alright?" Yukari blushed with embarrassment.

"Sorry, Madame Nishizumi."

"And it's Miho."

"Aye, aye commander!"

"Wrong branch Yukari. We're Army, even if we live on a ship."

"Affirmative commander!"

"Better, but for the moment, I want someone else to be the commander. I don't think I'm cut out for it," Miho sighed.

"Why?" Yukari pestered.

"Because...".._the plan Grandfather came up with last night wasn't something I would have thought of in a million years. The plan I thought was the best would have gotten everyone killed. _"...because I'm not experienced enough yet. I've got to learn more first."

"But last year at the Natio-!" Yukari began but Miho interrupted.

"Drop it!" she barked. Yukari froze in place before dropping her head in shame.

"..I-I-i...I'-I'm sorry...Madame Nishizumi," she stammered. Hana and Saori were flabbergasted.

"Miho! What the hell?!" Saori shouted.

"Drop. It," she growled. "I'm not ready to talk about it. End of discussion. Now, we've got our marching orders. Let's head into the forest and keep a lookout for any tanks, alright?"

No one complained about the uncomfortable silence that permeated through the group on the way to the forest.

888

"Hey, Miho, are you sure we're in the right spot?" Saori asked. They'd been walking through the woods for about an hour since the President gave them their marching, or rather, hiking orders, and Miho was the only one to speak, a simple "Map" upon entering the forest.

"Yes! Madame Nishizumi's navigational skills are superb!" Yukari defended. Miho waved her down.

"Yukari! Relax! We're a team! And for the record, I'm not claiming to be a deity or something of land-nav," Miho said without looking up from the map in her hands. "And quit being so formal!"

"But it wouldn't be proper! You're a Nishizumi! Legendary among the Panzerfahren community!" Yukari complained.

"Not anymore..." she said quietly.

"What was that?" Hana asked.

"Nothing. Just thinking," she lied.

"About...?" Saori asked.

"Where we are and where the tank is likely to be," Miho said, now actually thinking about it. She laid the map out on the ground as they gathered around. "We're here. The projected search area is here." She circled an area of the map off in the north east corner for their location and a large area south of them for the search area. "If they used the terrain to help hide the tank, then it'll likely be the depression...here."

"Makes sense..." Yukari looked over in the direction that the depression was. "If you're right, then over in that clearing, there should be a tank."

"If who's right?" Saori asked.

"..." Yukari froze up for a moment before exploding in despair. "GAAAHH! Madame Nishizumi! I need something to call you other than your first name! It's not right otherwise!"

"Alright! Alright! Give me a minute to think..." Miho said, going through some of Grandfather's ranks, but none seemed to fit for a familiar friend. Then it hit her.

"Castellan. You can call me Castellan, if you want," she said at last.

"Castellan? What sort of title is that?" Saori asked.

"My Grandfather's. He defended his home with honor, ferocity and ingenuity. And if there's one, _one_ thing I like about Panzerfahren, it makes me feel like I'm defending my home," Miho said in a voice that left no room for discussion.

"I would think the tanks would be hidden in a parking lot and they'd be all together, in one spot," Saori grumped. _Is she really like this? I mean _really_? _Yukari shook her head.

"From the stories I've heard, the Panzerfahren team didn't really like their tanks before, so they hid them were they thought no one would ever look for them," she explained. "It's sad really. What could make a team hate their tanks so much?"

"Hey, I got an update!" Miho said as her phone buzzed for a text message.

"Yeah Castellan?" Yukari asked as they gathered around Miho's phone.

"Its from the leader of the freshmen, Asuza. She's got her group at the library running through the old records. Apparently one of the tanks is supposed to be around here somewhere. She sent me these coordinates...Delta six to Echo five. Supposed to be a light tank. So we're looking for something fairly small as far as tanks go. Alright?"

"Okay," the team said more or less in unison. Then Hana began to sniff the air. Miho pulled out the map and laid it on the ground, then drew a border around the mentioned grid coordinates on it. Everyone knelt around her, save for Hana.

"Alright, we're here," Miho pointed to a spot at the base of the hills. On the map there was a large circle, at whose edge they were at. "This circle is the location of the tank that Asuza called about. Who wants to take which path?"

"I think I smell something," Hana said louder. This time she was heard.

"What do you think you smell?" Miho asked, completely missing what she had been doing and looking confused.

"Iron. Or is it steel? Maybe some oil, and definitely fuel," she said after another minute.

"Which direction?" Yukari asked, hopes beginning to rise once more.

"This way...?" Hana took another whiff, "This way." She pointed and Saori jumped up and practically flew in that direction.

"Panzer vor!" Yukari barked. Saori did a mid-air turn about and ended up flopping on the ground.

"You did _what_ in your pants?!" she cried. Dead silence. Miho coughed politely.

"No Saori, Panzer vor means 'Tanks forward'" she explained gently. Saori groaned into the dirt.

"Why does this always happen to me?!" came the muffled wail, carrying the souls and sympathy of many a comic relief character.

"Not sure. You probably did something in a past life to deserve this, though." Hana speculated.

"B-but I don't even remember a past life!" Saori complained.

"Com'on carrot-top," Miho said, walking over and toeing her over onto her back and reached out to her. "Time to get up and find that tank before dark. I'd rather not be late for class in the morning."

Saori only growled as she took Miho's hand and hauled herself up off the ground, dusting herself off.

"Hana! Where did you go?" Yukari yelled as Miho helped Saori to her feet.

"Tank! I found a tank!" she shouted in reply. Yukari looked to Miho who nodded. She followed Hana's voice into the clearing.

"Oh my God! Tank! Miho! Quick!" Yukari shouted. Miho nudged Saori.

"Com'on Saori. We've got a tank. Can you call it in?" she asked kindly. Saori nodded.

"Of course!" she pulled out her phone and dialed the number the Captain gave out for calling in tank finds.

"Captain? We have a tank. We're at..." She looked over to Miho who grabbed the map and read off their coordinates. "...grid Delta-fifty, mark seven. Really? Cool. How long? Alright, we'll wait here and return with the tank." before she hung up.

"Well?" Miho asked as they came up to the tank. Yukari was hugging it. Hugging the tank. Miho sighed. Another one. Hana, on the other hand, was looking rather smug with herself.

"Are you alright Yukari?" Miho asked.

"She's a Panzer 38(t), one of the mainstays of Erwin Rommel's seventh Panzer Division, and a major piece in the success of the blitzkrieg," Yukari recited from memory, still hugging the blackened and rusty machine.

"Uh, Yukari...?" Saori asked.

"I'm fantastic!" Yukari replied with more enthusiasm than Hana thought possible in a human being.

_I wonder if the rest of the team is having as good a success as we are_, Miho thought as she walked over and inspected the tank with a glowing Yukari.

"What in the hell is wrong with you, though? Hug-Ow! Haaaaaaaanaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! That hurt!" Saori shouted at her thoroughly embarrassed and disappointed friend.

"Why am I even friends with you...?" Hana sighed, exasperated yet again. If Hana was exasperated, Miho was planning on either killing them or just abandoning ship now. _And it isn't even dinner yet. It _is_ going to be a long one...wait a minute. Why do I want to grab a smoke?_

888

"Are you sure there's a tank down there?" Ceaser asked.

"Ach ja. Das ist what the little Mӓdchen [girl] called about. She said something about Untersee Panzer [Under-water tank]. Do you see another see we can look in?" Erwin countered.

"Well, we are in the middle of an ocean."

"Meine Freunde [my friend], no matter how much the old teams hated their Panzers, they would not just throw them into the Meer [Ocean]."

They stood on specifically designed floating shoes, and leaning on their sounding poles. They'd discovered an anomaly in the depth and consistency of the bottom of the lake in the aft section of the ship, and currently Saemonza was checking it out. Her rough location was tracked by the bamboo pole she was breathing through.

"WELL FRAULIEN?!" Erwin shouted into the water, trying to get Saemonza to let them know _something_. Verdammnt she was getting anxious. She wanted to drive Panzers, the kings of the battlefield! _And not just any Panzers, _**German**_ Panzers! True Panzers, magnificent steeds of battle!_

The bamboo stick wavered back and forth multiple times. Success! Erwin and the rest cheered as they congratulated each other on a resoundingly successful first mission.

On the bottom of the lake, Saemonza wondered exactly what a Panzer like the short and squat one she was looking at was doing on the bottom of a lake. And how were they going to get it out of there? She swam around the sunken hulk, looking for an easy way to attach ropes and cables to it.

_Where else have they hidden tanks on this ship?_ she wondered as she swam up for Erwin to take a look at their prize.

888

Suddenly, there was a loud whirling noise, intermixed with a deep chopping sound, and the trees around Miho and her friends began to shake and bend in strong winds as a humongous helicopter appeared overhead.

"That's a CH-53-E Super Stallion!" Yukari recognized. The massive helicopter hovered overhead as the crew expertly stayed on station directly over the tank.

"What!?" Saori shouted over the roar.

"A large cargo helicopter!"

Suddenly, a bunch of cables dropped down and landed on the tank. Then a woman slid down the cable with a born grace and leapt to the ground. Her handsome face was scarred up from either too much sea, or too much combat. She was dressed in a loose fitting utility jumper with shin high polished boots. But something was off about her. Her bodily proportions were all wrong. Sure Miho saw the protrusions on her shirt from her breasts, and lipstick under her helmet, but there was the way she carried herself. It was way too masculine.

The stranger approached the group and waved. "Hello girls!" the voice was too low for a normal female, and it sounded almost forced to Miho.

"Omygod! She's so buff!" Saori shouted over the roar.

"The peak of feminine form and muscle!" Hana agreed, "She's a living art work!"

The woman gestured to Miho and a spot a little ways away from the helicopter. Miho gestured to her friends. The woman shook her head.

"HEY! STAY HERE! GET THOSE CABLES ONTO THE TANK!" Miho had to really shout over the rotors because the strange woman was now dragging her away from them with an iron grip from her friends at a ferociously alarming rate. After they got a(n) (un)comfortable distance away, the crew chief removed her helmet to reveal the face of someone Miho had long thought dead. _Color Sergeant Jarran Kell, Aide-de-camp. Also known as my Godfather. _

"What are you doing here?!" she hissed quietly. Kell merely smiled.

"Good to see you too Madame Nishizumi. It's been a while." His voice had returned to something near where it should be. Somewhere roughly low as the floor.

"Kell! What in the Emperor's name are you doing here!?" she demanded.

"Your Grandfather wanted me to keep an eye on you, in case something needed my attention," he said smoothly.

"Like what?"

"Well, see that's the thing about your Grandfather. He's not always specific about things, but when he tells you-"

"I get it. But in the helicopter?"

"He said I'd need it when they brought the sport back to this place. About time too. I've been going mad without the comfort of the cannons going off. Like a ghost town," he shook his head.

"With _makeup_ on." she deadpanned. "You're bringing back your favorite sport with makeup on."

"I've done worse in my service to the Emperor under your Grandfather, young Madame, believe me. Far worse. I'm just glad I didn't have to wear that blasted officer's skirt. Do you know how close I was to being promoted to officer by your Grandfather?"

"Oh yeah." If there was ever a time that two people so intertwined with one another fought, it would have to be something monumental. Like being promoted one more rank, in the case of Kell. Officer-ship didn't sit well with him, and Miho had remembered the titanic clashes of other worldly language and swears that had crossed her house when they got at it after too much sake for dinner.

"Now then. Where's this tank going Madame?" he asked.

"The practice field." Miho answered, "And it's Castellan."

"Right. We'd better get a move on then. Are you friends going to help?"

"Either they will, or the Captain'll skin them."

"Ah, yes. The Captain. I've heard of her. Sounds like a good Commissar if you ask me."

"Let's just get this over with," Miho faceplamed, "I don't know what you're talking about but it worries me all the same."

They walked over and inspected the cables that Hana and Yukari had already completed, nodding in approval when they were correct and fixing them when they were not. While Miho jumped in and secured the last cable at the rear of the tank, Soari continued to drool.

"Saori! Are you coming?" Yukari shouted over the roar of the rotors at the vegetative girl. She finally snapped out of it and clambered onto the tank with everyone else.

"Hana, get everyone inside the tank!" Miho ordered. Hana tugged on Saori's sleeve and the two clambered into the tank. Yukari looked over at Miho.

"What about you?" she asked.

"I'll be fine. I've got experience with tanks, remember?" she said. She couldn't see it, but Kell was smiling at her back as Yukari got into the tank and Miho clung tightly to the turret. _Yes, she was definitely Urse's kin. She has that way with people._

"Kasuto, we're ready for lift. Take us to the practice yard," Kell ordered.

"Yes ma'am!" the pilot increased thrust and soon they were airborne. Sitting calmly on the flying tank, Kell reflected on some of Urse's more dangerous plots. _Henh. Yeah, there was that one time, during the Thirteenth Crusade, that Urse told me to take a platoon of men and reinforce the most secure place on the line. Henh. What a blood bath that turned out to be. Luckily he hid those Baneblades in the Chapel we were hiding in months before hand. How I never noticed the move orders I'll never know. Not entirely sure I _want_ to know. _

888

Soon, the practice field came into view, and Kasuto cut the horizontal thrust and began to drop the vertical thrust. They descended slowly, Kasuto gently setting the light tank down in front of the Student Council. The Captain and President looked rather smug with themselves. The Vice on the other hand, looked rather put off.

"You contacted the CREW?!" she shouted at the perpetrators. The President shrugged.

"I got nothing to say," she said with a shrug as Kell and Miho's crew got the tank un hooked. The Super Stallion then landed on the field so Kell could reload the cable launcher. Miho slid off the tank and jogged over to the President.

"Alright, the tank is here. Now what?" she asked.

"The volleyball club's found a tank on the side of a cliff. I told them to leave it," the President said through her munching.

"How about the rest of them?"

"Those history nerds found a tank in the middle of the pond, and the freshmen...I think they should be close to locating their tank as well." Miho nodded, thinking, planning, plotting.

"Alright...do we have another lift chopper?" she asked. The President shrugged. The Captain did as well.

"Chief!" she shouted. Kell came running from inside the helicopter, idling twenty meters away.

"...how did..." the Captain gaped. Kell paid her no mind.

"You called, Castellan?"

"Do we have another lift chopper on board?" she asked.

"Aye, we do. It's got more lift than the Stallion. Shall I have it prepped for takeoff?"

"Yes. Captain, give the Chief the coordinates of the history nerds," Miho said, "Do we know what kind of tank it is?"

"N-no, it's on the bottom of a lake, and its covered in lake scum," the Captain recounted, finally regaining her senses.

"We'd best be safe and use both choppers for that recovery, ma'am," Kell analyzed. Miho nodded. The Captain's phone rang and she walked into the garages to hear what was being said.

"Alright, have that chopper take off and get on station for the recovery of that tank anyways. See if they can't lift it by themselves. If not, we'll assist after taking care of the volleyball team."

"President! I just got a call from the freshmen. They've found a tank in the petting zoo's rabbit enclosure."

"Alright, then I'll take Hana and Saori to check it out. Yukari, if I lend you to the Chief can you get the volleyball team sorted out?" Miho asked. Yukari snapped to attention and saluted.

"Hai! You can count on me!" Yukari barked. _OmyGodMadamneNishizumiistrustingmewithasolomossionohmygodohmygodohmygod!_

"I know I can Yukari. Radio if you need help, alright?" Miho put her hand on the flushing teen's shoulder.

"Hai!" Yukari shouted and ran off into the Stallion.

"I'll have the chopper crew on station in ten minutes Castellan," Kell reported after getting off the radio.

"Very good, we'll see if we can't be there to lend a hand," Miho said.

"And where do you want me, Madame?"

"Take Yukari and get the volleyball team out of that cave. Then get over to the history team's position and recover that tank. Understood?"

Kell snapped to attention, but didn't salute. "Crystal. By your leave?"

"Go." she said simply and gently. Kell nodded to her, then ran into the Stallion after Yukari, which took off as soon as he was aboard and headed aft towards the volleyball team.

888

"Noriko, I know you're proud about this and all, but shouldn't we find a different tank?" Shinobu asked. They had just repelled fifteen meters down a cliff face and were currently staring into the rusted hull of an oblong tank.

"Relax, I'm sure the President or the Captain has a plan to get this out of here," Noriko said, already forming her own plan. They'd need a lot of rope, pulleys and possibly the rest of the team, once they got the tanks in running shape.

"Hey Noriko! The Captain says to just leave that one! It's too hard to get at!" Taeko called down. Shinobu gave Noriko a "I told you so," look, but Noriko wasn't paying her any mind. It frustrated her that the President would just give up on a tank when things were so scarce.

"Tell the Captain we're taking this fucking tank no matter what!" Noriko ordered, her wounded pride refusing to back down.

"Uh...okay...?" Taeko shouted back, unsure of what exactly her friend was blabbering about now, with the situation so clearly hopeless. Tense minutes passed as Norkio forced her mind to work on overdrive as she tried to fix the predicament she'd backed herself into. Again.

Noriko stood there in the cave, running her hand over the cool metal of the tank and fumed. _How _dare_ the President just throw away my team's hard work like it was nothing! This is a tank, something precious and treasured, and _my _team found it. Just like that, those lousy-wait a minute, what's that noise?_ Norkio and Shinobu looked to the mouth of the cave, and they saw a massive light grey helicopter make its way over to the mountain side. Suddenly, Noriko had an idea. She grabbed the light she had planned on using to search the cave and flicked it on. Then she waved it back and forth in the direction at the helicopter's cockpit, trying to get the attention of the pilot.

888

Up top, Taeko hung up when she saw the helicopter approaching. As she watched, it flew over head, banked and began to descend onto the plateau, its rear ramp lowering. Then, of all people, came the quiet, reserved girl that didn't have a team out the ramp. The noise from the helicopter's engines was near deafening, but the shy girl didn't seem to mind. She was wearing one of those wireless helmets anyways and had the largest grin on her face as she jogged over.

"C-compliments of the Castellan!" she stammered as the helicopter increased the throttle on the engine and took off again. "Where's the tank?"

"Down there!" Taeko pointed. The girl nudged close to the edge without falling over, and nodded.

"Alright...let's see..." she muttered to herself before tapping a button on the helmet. "Chief. Can you take the helicopter above this edge of the cliff and run the cable out as I direct it? The tank's inside the cave we saw on the way over."

888

Back inside the cave, Noriko was surprised as ever when the shy girl that followed after Nishizumi's gang dropped down on some cables. She grinned from beneath her helicopter helmet.

"Compliments of the Castellan! Let's get this thing back to the garage!" she said enthusiastically.

Noriko grinned. "Right!" _I wasn't abandoned_.

"If we hook the cables around the tank length wise, we'll just barely have enough to have safe clearance!" the girl shouted.

"Good thinking!" Noriko shouted back before scrambling under the tank, cables in hand.

888

It was nearly time for Erwin to return to the surface for Oyrou's turn down under with the tank, as much as she regretted to admit it.

But she did recognize the venerable steed beneath the waters of the lake; a Stug III, one of the most venerable tank destroyers and assault tanks that ever was produced by the mighty German Wermacht. It wasn't the Jagdpanther she was hoping for, but it was close. Very close. She'd take it.

Suddenly, the surface of the lake began to ripple, then water began to slosh into her breathing tube. She saw the forms of her friends on the surface topple over, panic for a second and then swim for the close shore. Nearly panicking herself, Erwin had to force herself to not dart for the surface. _There had to be some sort of reasonable explanation for-_

Her train of thought stopped as she broke the surface to the prop wash of a massive helicopter hovering directly over the pond. Shocked beyond measure, she swam to shore, where the rest of her drenched friends awaited, looking rather cross.

"What's going on?!" Erwin barked over the roar of the rotors.

"I don't know!" Caesar shouted at her. The rear doors of the helicopter opened, and a woman in a military green utility suit slid down a cable that had been dropped as well. She landed on the bank, almost fell in, but regained his balance. Once she recomposed herself, she walked over to the girls, her face mostly obscured by her helmet.

"Ladies! I understand you've got something at the bottom of that pond?" she asked (read: shouted over the roar) with a knowing smile.

"Yeah! How did you know?!" Erwin shouted back.

"Little birdie told me! Com'on! 'Ol Benny can't stay up there all day!" she said as more cables dropped directly into the water over the tank.

888

"Miho!" Asuza said excitedly as the trio came upon the gaggle of freshmen around the rabbit enclosure.

"How did-" Soari was interrupted by Miho.

"Don't ask," Miho said, "After a few conversations with my Grandfather, I realized that much. Don't ask, because you really don't want to know."

"But I do!" Saori protested.

"Trust me in this," Miho said, shuddering at the horrors she witnessed through the dream memories.

"Are you okay?" Hana asked, noting how badly Miho shuddered.

"I'll be better once we get this tank back to the practice field," Miho said as she surveyed the structure erected around the tank. From the dabbling into tanks she'd been forced to do in Kuromorimine, the distinct high profile and twin turret design could only be the work of either an American or Soviet design_. And since the Soviets avoided olive drab green, preferring something a few shades darker, this could only be an American M3 Grant/Lee, one heavy son of a bitch. We're going to need both choppers. Damn. _

"Alright, let's get this enclosure out from around this," Miho said.

"How are we going to do that?" Katrina asked.

"Take the roof and the side closest to the tank and make a triangle pen for the rabbits over there," Miho pointed. The girls nodded and got to work removing the metal sheets while Miho and Hana climbed into the M3 Lee to see what they were looking at, truly.

++Download complete, packet_5++

++Thought for the day: Duty prevails above all else++


	6. packet6

++Biometric scans complete, Homo Sapiens identified++

++Access Granted++

++Beginning download, packet_6++

That evening, two choppers did a double helix fly over, over the practice field, and made for the freight elevator at the bow of the ship. Before the girls stood five tanks, all of them, save the Panzer IV, wrested from their hiding places by expertise, willpower, and chopper rotors alike.

"Yukari, what are we looking at?" Miho asked the beaming girl. Her mission went off without a hitch, and Miho was rather smug with herself. She's found her counterpart, her aide.

"We're looking at a Japanese Type 89 medium tank, a German Panzer 38(t) light tank, a German Stug III Assault tank, an American M3 Grant/Lee combination, and a Panzer IV Ausf D medium," she reported after a second's hesitation as she catalogued the tanks.

"Alright, good work everyone!" the President called from inside in the shady garage, munching on her snacks. She hopped off and walked in front of the tanks, looking at each one like a drill sergeant inspecting his charge at morning formation.

"Well, we're going to divide the teams up lik-" Yukari interrupted the President at Miho's nod.

"Like this! Everyone mount the tank they found!" she barked. Miho and her friends stayed behind as the rest of the team clambered onto the tops of their tanks, claiming them as their own. They'd discussed this on the way there, in the chopper, with the rest of the team. Everyone knew what was going to happen.

The President on the other hand, looked at Miho and Yukari with awe. _Just two days ago. Could all this really change in just two days?_

Yukari and Miho walked with Hana and Saori trailing behind them, up and down the line of tanks.

"They're good... that tank needs a team of three...they're good...they're good...that tank needs five to operate," Yukari rattled off as they walked. Miho nodded all the while. At the end of the line, Miho turned to the President.

"Madame President, the Student Council will take the 38(t), and I will operate the Panzer IV with my friends. Other than that, I feel the team selections are quite satisfactory," she reported.

"Uhm...yes. They are satisfactory. I was going to suggest just that, in fact" the President said. The weakling was certainly no longer there. _TWO DAYS!_

"Yukari, Hana, Saori, take up positions in the Panzer. I'll be the radio operator," Miho said.

"Wha-why?" Yukari stammered.

"So I can keep direct contact with the rest of the team, if I need to advise anyone. I trust you'll do a good job at whichever you choose," Miho said reassuringly.

"I will commander!" Yukari saluted. Miho turned to the other two, almost forgotten in the chaos of the day.

"I know you two will do just as good, I'm counting on you," she said. Hana and Saori hadn't hung out with Miho that much, but something about her new frame of mind. About the way she now carried her head held high, her gaze not quite ice, but not always warm and inviting either. Something about her voice. There was that...element. That unspoken command, that weight behind every word. _Where did it come from?_

"Hai!" they shouted in unison. Miho finally turned to the Captain.

"Good," Miho smiled warmly at them, then turned her attention to the President. "Madame President, is there some sort of club to help us with the repairs to the engines and such?"

"Yeah. I was going to force the auto club to get the work done tonight, after we cleaned out the tanks," she said.

Miho shook her head. "My team will be taking part in the care of our own steed as well. If we are to know how this works, we need to know our vehicle inside and out. Yukari!"

"Hai!"

"Grab some coffee from the nearest coffee shop. It's going to be a long night. Hana!"

"Hai!"

"Grab out some brushes and other cleaning supplies. We'll probably need to replace the interior as well, so grab some paint. Saori!"

"Hai!"

"Give her a hand. I'll grab the hoses and get some water flowing onto the tank. Ready? Break!"

The new crew of the Panzer IV dispersed with lightning speed, off to complete their tasks. Erwin was the first to recover.

"Hey! Are we going to let Nishizumi do this alone?" Erwin demanded of the Stug's crew. If the only veteran tanker was staying, then it probably was a good idea to do likewise.

"Hell no!" they shouted back.

"Get working on then!" Erwin shouted as they dashed into the hanger to get some cleaning supplies.

"Katrina! Ayuma! Get everyone moving!" Asuza shouted getting caught up in the moment. The freshmen stampeded into the hanger to search for cleaning supplies.

"Forward! To victory!" Noriko shouted, leading the charge of the volleyball club into the maelstrom, splitting the disorganized rabble and managing to grab some supplies before being swamped by sheer numbers.

"...what just happened?" The President asked outside the hangers, looking at the other worldly scene within. The Captain just shrugged.

"I think we got out maneuvered, Madame President," she said with reluctance.

"How does that happen?" she asked quietly. Then she noticed that her second in command was nowhere to be found. "Where did the Vice go?"

"In here!" the Vice president shouted from the garage, near the gaggle of girls vying for the cleaning supplies.

"...I'll get the auto club over here," the President sighed and pulled out her phone.

888

Three hours later, the tanks were coming along nicely, as far as cleaning the things went. The auto club had "decided" to start with the Student Council's tank, "seeing" as it was found in the woods. Three hours later, most of the tank was back together, the engine checked, de-squirreled (which brought squeals of joy from the freshmen), and re-installed.

The Council, on the other hand, had been cleaning the pieces that the auto club said needed cleaning, and learning how to take care of their own steed.

The freshmen had the M3 in decent looking shape, the exterior looking well, and one of the auto club members showing them how to grease bearings and fix the tracks.

Five hours later, the 38(t) was done, and the M3 Lee was being checked out, now that it was fully cleaned inside and out. The Panzer IV was nearly clean, not a whole lot of work being needed other than just getting the tracks mounted and the hull cleaned. Miho had already checked out the engine and such.

The Type 89 and Stug III on the other hand,

"What are we going to name the tank?" Saori asked, finally breaking the silence that had prevailed throughout the crew as they scrubbed and scraped away years of neglect.

"I'm not sure, something cute, perhaps? Like the _Anglerfish_? Or the _Elephant_?" Hana suggested. Miho laughed.

"What's so funny Miho?" Saori asked.

"Tanks are supposed to be named in a manner fitting to be spoken of in whispers of terror by the enemy. Something to be named so that when the inscription is read, friendly forces jump for joy, and clap one another on the shoulder," Miho said. That much she'd learned at Kuromorimine.

"Then what would you suggest?" Yukari asked. Miho smiled.

"Something like '_Glorious Rebel_'" Miho said. Yukari shook her head.

"I see where you're going in this, but that just doesn't ring very well, you know?" she said, scraping off mildew from the gunner's seat. "How about the _Pius Renegade_?"

"What? Those names? They're too long to put on the side of the turret!" Hana said, as she was cleaning off the barrel.

"I don't know. Those names, they've got something in them. It just seems...right. I mean tanks are fierce, proud and strong, right?" Saori said "What kind of boy will want to date me if I ride around in a tank without a fierce and strong name?"

"...you're going along with this because you want a guy to like you for the name of your tank?" Hana face palmed "I had hopes you'd be over this..."

"What? I'll be popular with _all_ the boys then!" she shrieked with joy.

"Alright, but that still doesn't-"

"_Renegade Glory_!" Saori shouted suddenly, taking all crew members aback and starting an uproar among the rest of the team.

"...that's actually a good one, Saori," Miho breathed.

"Hey! What do you mean by 'actually'?!" the red head demanded.

"Nothing, nothing at all," Hana quickly recovered for Miho. She shot a look over her shoulder at the thankful teen. _You owe me_.

"I'll get the paint then!" Miho said taking the hint and quickly beat a tactical retreat from the Panzer's hull.

888

"_Renegade Glory_? Are they discussing names for the tank?" Saemonza asked Erwin. She nodded her head.

"Ja, they are undoubtedly naming their Panzer. And in true German fashion, I might add," she said proudly.

"So what do you think we should name ours, Erwin?" Cesar asked, full well knowing the answer, but figured it was worth a shot.

"The _Desert Fox_," the pseudo-German said proudly. The other three shook their heads sadly. Poor, deluded Erwin.

"You know, I'm all for the _Lost Legionnaire_," Cesar said, "Or even _Desert Legionnaire_."

"_Hidden Pride_?" Saemonza offered.

"_Desert Crusader_?" Erwin asked.

"No, something...more. It's gotta be more," Oryou said.

"Define 'more' Oryou," Erwin said.

"Well, look at Nishizumi's tank. _Renegade Glory_. Put the image of a rebel on the turret, and it's the perfect vehicle to lead a charge," she explained, "So us? Take a look at the Stug. We're not going to be leading a charge, we're built for ambushing and sniping."

"Alright, fair enough, but that still doesn't answer the question of what are we going to name the tank," Cesar pointed out.

"Hmmm... how about..._Time Immemorial_?" Saemonza asked. Oryou jumped excitedly.

"Yes, yes YES!" she shouted excitedly, "That is IT!"

"Hmm...I can dig it," Erwin said thoughtfully."Saemonza, grab the pain. The honor of putting it on the right flank is yours!"

"Hai!" the Japanese historian barked before disappearing in the search for paint.

888

"So what will we name ours?" Taeko asked Noriko as they tended to the gun sights on the Type 89.

"_Indomitable Will_!" she said immediately. The rest of the crew looked at their tank, then at everyone elses'. Yes, the name was fitting for a Type 89. They'd have to have an indomitable will if they were to have any chance of success on the battlefield. They cheered and got to work painting the name on the hull.

"Oh! What about the paint job?" Shinobu asked. Noriko shook her head.

"We're going to want a color scheme like this. It'll help the tank stay invisible for longer than if we paint it something else," she explained.

"Alright. What do you want on the turret?" Taeko asked. Noriko shrugged.

"Not sure. Got any ideas?"

"How about 'Volley fire' ?" Akebi suggested. She'd been mostly quiet until now, which was an oddity, even for someone on the volleyball team. "We do have more than one cannon."

"Awesome idea!" Noriko agreed.

"Good one Akebi!" Taeko congratulated.

"I'll get some more paint then," Shinobu said as she went to find where the rest of the paint went.

888

"Madame President, it seems as though the rest of the team is picking out their tank names. Any ideas on ours?" the Captain reported from her perch in the turret.

"_Fist of Tyranny_," she said without pause. The Captain was taken aback.

"Uh...do we get a say?" the Vice asked timidly from the driver's seat.

"Of course not," she said through her cookies, "This is the _Fist of Tyranny_, after all. So no, you don't get a say in the name."

"So what time are we looking at being done?" the Vice asked, slumped over, still exhausted from cleaning the entire tank herself, in her bathing suit no less. The President had some weird...ticks.

"Probably morning," the President said whimsically. The Captain merely grunted her affirmation. It was going to be a tiring night just sitting here, watching everyone else get their tanks operational.

888

Asuza was also having difficulty figuring out what to name her tank.

"So, does anyone have any ideas on what to name our tank?" she asked the other five.

"How about _Rabbit_?" Ayumi asked. Yuuki, Saki and Aya nodded their agreement.

"Um...I don't think that's what a tank is supposed to be named..." Asuza said, and pointed to the Type 89 down the line. The volleyball club already had their name inscrolled on the tank's broad flank. _Indomitable Will_. At the end of the line, the Panzer IV had the name _Renegade Gl_ already painted on the turret, painted by Nishizumi while the redhead sat fuming. "You know what? The name can be decided on later. What about the color?"

"Pink!" Ayumi said immediately, but this time, only Yuuki and Saki agreed with her.

"...um, how about something more...tactical?" Asuza asked.

"Like Soviet olive?" Katrina asked.

"Something like that, yea." Asuza agreed.

"Eeeewwww!"

"American olive drab?" Saki asked timidly. Ayumi was shocked at the sudden betrayal.

"Saki! I thought you were on my side!" Ayumi demanded.

"Well, olive drab was-" Suddenly, the shy girl who stuck to Nishizumi spran out from a side hatch.

"Olive Drab was established as the official color of American tactical armored vehicles in bulletin number ninety of the General Headquarters of the American Expeditionary Force as a compromise between the brown color of earth and the more green colors of the foliage in 1918!" she said on a single breath, before disappearing back into the depths of the M3, shutting the hatch behind her.

"Um...what just happened?" Karina asked, breaking the stunned silence.

"We got flanked," Asuza said flatly, "So its settled then. Saki, take Karina and get the paint from the garage. I'll take the rest of us and finish washing the tank so we can paint it."

"But wait a minute!" Ayumi complained.

"Yes?"

"I thought it was going to be pink," Ayumi put on a pouty face.

"Ayumi, you heard that girl said. Olive drab is a compromise between earth and foliage. It'll be better at keeping us hidden than bright neon pink," Asuza said. The rest nodded. "Sorry about that. But I like your idea for a name. How about _Furry Vengeance_, and that cute charm you've got on your backpack?"

Asuza knew about Ayumi's murderous rabbit key fob on her backpack, a pink rabbit with two large knives. It was the perfect emblem for their tank. And Ayumi knew it too after she thought about it.

"You're right, I'll get the paint! I'm going to put it on the tank!" Ayumi said, snapping out of her pout and running off in search of yet more paint.

888

The night, as prophesized, was long and arduous. After the tanks were taken apart and put back together, the President had the teams assign positions and practice basic maneuvers in the lot. _Furry Vengence, Fist of Tyranny, _and _Time Immemorial_ were fully functional, while _Renegade Glory _and _Indomitable Will_ were in the final stages of reconstruction as morning began to creep on the weary tankers.

The day broke over the horizon as the final plates were being screwed in. The moment wasn't lost on Miho. She'd fallen asleep during the night sometime, being woken by Yukari only when she was needed for the _Renegade's _turn to be taken apart. After that, sleep was hard to come by, such was the effect of working on another tank. The rapid progress drove them further and further through the task. The auto club member assigned to the Panzer IV was barely able to keep up with them as she directed them through the relatively complex task of rebuilding an entire Panzer.

The rest of the student body was party to a spectacle on the way to school, as they passed the practice field, where two tanks were nearly together, and the rest were driving around less jerkily than the night previous.

The M3 Lee in particular was having difficulties as appointed commander Asuza tried to coordinate the efforts of five other rather...antsy girls. The top turret was currently locked in state of permanently turning to the right, as Aya leaned all the way over on the controls, giggling like a madwoman.

The low slung tank on the other hand, was moving about the field with practiced ease, stopping every so often to scare the ever living hell out of random groups of girls by tracking them with the main cannon. Uproarious and annoying sinister and..._german_ laughter erupted from the tank when this occurred.

Rumors began to spread about the campus, as classmates noticed that their friends in the Panzerfahren team hadn't come to class yet. As the day progressed, it became apparent that the prospect of playing with tanks was more enticing than the luster of school to those who had joined the team, as they did not show up for any of their classes.

Had anyone bothered to look out at the field though, they would have seen it empty, which would be considered an oddity. But in fact, if one were to take a closer look at the field, specifically in the hangers that had their doors half open, they would have found the real reason for the entire team not showing up.

...and to the chargin of the teenage boys among the inhabitants of the ship, it wasn't a gigantic orgy worthy of legend. It was collective nap time. (What? _You_ try working on a Panzer for twelve hours straight and see how well school looks to you! You bet your ass you'll be tired as hell!) The teams slept in their tanks, comfort found in being surrounded by the iron hulls brought back to life by their own hands, content smiles on each face.

Except for Miho Nishizumi. She lay stretched out on the top of the turret, waiting for sleep to take her into the future, but it didn't come. Her mind was too busy no matter how badly she tried to empty it. Training regimens had to be designed. Crew morale had to be assessed. She had to talk to her Grandfather. The Student Council President had to be dealt with. The vehicles needed to be upgraded if necessary. Logistics of keeping them supplied in the field. What kinds of ammo were needed? She had tanks from three different countries, no two tanks the same. _No interchangeable ammo. Damn. How am I going to begin training them? Do I start with some team building? Or do I just throw them into the fray like an awful human being?_ she asked herself. And it responded. _Not awful human being. Good commander._ Voices. Great, now she _really_ wasn't going to get sleep.

++Download complete, packet_6++

++Thought for the day: Only the insane have strength enough to prosper. Only those who prosper may judge what is truly sane.++


End file.
